


Yeoseodo Castaways

by maroonfairy17



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Castaways, F/M, Romantic Comedy, Survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-05-28 21:02:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 65,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15057743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maroonfairy17/pseuds/maroonfairy17
Summary: All students in the university must go through this mysterious five-day trip — a trip that will test their skills, their wits, and their hearts. (Based on MBC's One Fine Day - Castaway Boys)





	1. Lambs To The Slaughter

“All students joining the trip tomorrow, please check your emails. I’ll be sending some guidelines,” Professor Kang said. “As for the rest of the class, please enjoy your holiday break. Thank you.”

 Students rose from their seats and began to walk out of the room. Other classes ended and distant cheers were heard from the hallway signifying the start of the term break.

 “Noona. Noona,” Chan said to the girl who was seated beside him. “We’re grabbing some ice cream. You want to join us?”

 “I was just about to ask you guys if you want some,” the girl said, smiling. “Since you all did so well for our project.”

 “Aigoo, Hyesun-noona, it’s all thanks to you,” Seungkwan said, looking shy.

 “Hansol, you want to join us for some ice cream?” Hyesun asked.

 “I can’t,” Hansol replied, slinging his pack. He had dark circles under his eyes and he seemed to be on edge. “Gotta present this final project for a major.”

 “Oh, okay, I hope it goes well,” Hyesun said. “But check your things before you leave. Make sure everything’s in order.”

 Hansol did what he was told and checked his laptop. “OH. MY. GOD.”

 “What’s wrong?” Jihoon asked, walking with Seokmin, Joshua, and Jeonghan towards the front row.

 “Blue screen,” Chan said to his hyungs.

 “Oh dear. That’s not good,” Jeonghan said in his usual calm voice, which immediately earned an elbowing from Joshua and a sharp look from Seokmin.

 “I-I won’t make it,” Hansol said. “What do I do? What do I do?”

 Hansol looked like he was about to have a meltdown and sunk on one of the seats. Jihoon tried to restart the laptop but nothing was happening. Seungkwan and Chan placed their hands on Hansol’s shoulders.

 “Hansol, do you have a copy of your presentation?” Hyesun asked. “I can lend you my laptop.”

 The panicked Hansol seemed to have regained clarity once again. He rubbed the tears that were about to fall and quickly found a USB which he gave to Hyesun.

 “Okay,” Hyesun said, opening the presentation and making sure that everything was in place. “All good?”

 Hansol nodded. “Thank you so much, noona.”

 “Great,” Hyesun said and stood up. “Now, lead the way and we’ll go with you.”

 ***

 “What’s taking them so long?” Seungcheol said, looking at his wristwatch. “I made it clear that we’re all having dinner together at 7, right?”

 “Maybe something came up?” Jun said, hopping off the kitchen counter.

 “Hansol had a presentation today, didn’t he?” Mingyu reminded them.

 “Don’t worry, they’ll be here soon,” Soonyoung said.

 As soon as Soonyoung said those words, the door burst open.

 “Yah! Hansol passed!” Seokmin announced as he walked in. “Choi Hansol got a freaking 99!”

 Seungkwan, Chan, and Jeonghan followed them to the kitchen while Jihoon and Joshua walked with Hansol, carrying paper bags of takeouts.

 Seungcheol forgot all about his annoyance and instead congratulated Hansol on his achievement. Everyone gathered at the dinner table and their meal commenced.

 “Where is Chan?” Jeonghan asked, noticing the empty seat in front of him. “Chan? Chaaaan? You disappeared.”

 “Coming, hyung!” Chan said, running to his seat.

 “What were you doing?” Jeonghan asked, passing the plate of grilled pork belly to his dongsaeng.

 “I was just talking to Professor Kang,” Chan replied.

 “What did she say?” Seokmin asked.

 “She said to pack coats and gloves.”

 Hansol dabbed his mouth with a paper towel. “I thought we’re going somewhere warm?”

 “Hansol, dear,” Seungkwan said, passing a plate of rice to Minghao. “You don’t know who to believe anymore. That email didn’t even say anything about where we’re going!”

 “But I’m sure it will be fun!” Jun said with much positivity. “We’ve got a lot of people to be with.”

 Chan sipped a bit of his cola and then put the glass down. “Actually, it’s just us going.”

Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and they all looked at their maknae.

 “Us,” Wonwoo said, motioning to everyone at the table. “You mean just _us?_ ”

 “Yes, hyung,” Chan said. “Professor sent me the list of people joining tomorrow and it’s just fourteen.”

 “Well that’s just sad,” Soonyoung pouted. “I thought we’re gonna be a lot.”

 Minghao waved his hand to Chan for him to be noticed. “You said fourteen. We’re already thirteen. So who’s the last one?”

 “Correction,” Wonwoo interjected, a smirk playing on his face. “Who’s the _unlucky_ one?”

 “Hyesun-noona,” Chan replied.

 Jihoon looked up from his plate and so did Joshua.

 “Hyesun?” Jihoon said.

 “Hyesun-noona,” Seungkwan and Hansol said in unison.

 “Ah, Song Hyesun,” Joshua said cheerfully.

 Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and the others had puzzled looks on their faces. Seungcheol wouldn’t know since he's in another class of Professor Kang.

 “I remember! She’s your seatmate, right?” Seokmin pointed to Seungkwan, Hansol, and Chan. “Yeah, the helpful one.”

 “Hyesun-noona’s the best,” Hansol said, picking up a big piece of pork belly. “If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be able to present a while ago.”

 “Good thing she was there and made you check your stuff before going,” Seungkwan said. “I’m getting goosebumps just by thinking about how perfect the timing of things are.”

 “That’s true,” Chan agreed. “Our report got a 98 because of her too.”

 “Jeonghan-hyung, I want a 98 too!” Seokmin said, turning to Jeonghan who was listening intently.

 “You got a 98? From Professor Kang?” Mingyu blurted. “I couldn’t even get an 85 for my papers!”

 “I wish I was groupmates with her,” Jun said.

 “Yah, we got a 96 because of me,” Minghao spat. “Aren’t you happy with that?”

 “I’m just kidding,” Jun said, placing a piece of fried chicken on Minghao’s plate to appease him.

Jihoon felt a smile playing on his lips as he listened to the compliments about Hyesun but when he saw Chan looking at him as if analyzing him, Jihoon quickly turned his attention back to his plate.

 “I still can’t remember her well,” Jeonghan said, unlocking his phone. “I’m gonna check.”

 “Jeonghan, we were just with her a while ago, but you can’t remember her?” Joshua said.

 “I was focused on Hansol, not her,” Jeonghan replied. “Ah, here we go. Mutual friends are Chan, Seungkwan, Hansol, Seokmin, you, and Jihoon.” He placed his phone on the table and continued scrolling down. “Wait. Joshua. Isn’t she the one you shared your umbrella with yesterday?”

 “Yes,” Joshua answered. He looked unsure where this was going.

 “Well you looked pretty happy while you two were walking,” Jeonghan said in a singsong voice. He looked at Joshua and smiled at him. “See? You’re blushing.”

 Joshua let go of his chopsticks. “I’m not blushing. Stop it, Jeonghan.”

 “I wonder what she’ll say once she finds out that she’s gonna be spending five days with just dudes,” Minghao said.

 “If I were her, I’d drop the class and take it again next term,” Wonwoo said.

 “But that’ll be a waste,” Mingyu argued. “The trip’s the final requirement.”

 “Alright, listen up,” Seungcheol said as he stood up, making everyone look at him. “I want you to all behave, is that clear?” He paused. “Don’t be too loud.” He looked at Seokmin. “Don’t cause a ruckus.” He looked at Seungkwan. “And tone your savagery down.” He looked at Jeonghan. “Understood?”

 Everyone looked at another and back at Seungcheol who was waiting for their reply.

 “Yes, hyung.”

 ***

 “Just in time,” Seungcheol said as he got off the bus that took him and his friends to the meetup area.

  _Chan’s right. It’s really just fourteen of us_ , Jihoon thought as his gaze focused on one single person standing at the far end of the park they were in.

 The thirteen boys walked towards Hyesun, with Chan, Seungkwan, and Hansol rushing to greet her.

 “Good morning, Hyesun,” Joshua greeted kindly and smiled.

 Jihoon felt his spirits go down a little but when Hyesun greeted him, his spirits were back up.

 The others joined them, standing in a straight line.

 “Ah, you must be Hyesun,” Jeonghan said. “I’ve heard so much about y—“

 “This trip,” Joshua interrupted, gently pushing Jeonghan away. “Jeonghan’s heard so much about this trip changing activities every year. Don’t you find that intriguing?”

 A couple of older people approached them and introduced themselves as their facilitators for the trip. Not long after, Professor Kang showed up and did the roll call.

 “In this place, you can enjoy seafood,” Professor Kang said.

 “Seafood?” Soonyoung said, eyes widening. “Raw fish, shell fish, we get to eat them all?”

 “Yes, yes,” the professor answered, amused at how pumped up her student was. “Now, are there any questions?”

 One hand was raised.

 “Yes, Hyesun?” Professor Kang acknowledged.

 “Is it really just the fourteen of us today?” Hyesun asked, looking around, as if waiting for more participants, particularly other girls to join.

 “Yes, it’s only fourteen of you today,” Professor Kang said.

 “Oh. Okay. I see,” Hyesun said and sighed. “Thank you professor.”

 At the other end of the line, Jun whispered to Minghao. “I’d go home if I were her.”

 Minghao only nodded in agreement.

***

“We’ll be having lunch here before we proceed with the trip,” Professor Kang announced, standing in the aisle of the bus.

The sky was gray, but that didn’t damp the spirits of the kids who saw the seafood restaurant outside.

They got out of the bus and entered the restaurant.

“Wow,” Chan said, sticking close to Hyesun. “Noona, let’s eat a lot!”

“Are we having something delicious?” Seungkwan said, placing an arm on Hansol’s shoulder.

The kids were led to a hallway where there was a dark room at the end.

“Hey, why is it dark there?” Seungcheol said, standing on his tiptoes to see. “Are we going in there?”

Everyone soon held hands as they approached the dark room. Jihoon held out his hand behind him for Hyesun to hold and once their fingers touched, Hyesun felt warmth and security. Jihoon held her hand, while Hyesun held Chan’s.

They walked inside the dark room, and judging by the way they stood with each other in comfortable distance, Hyesun concluded that the room was big.

The lights were soon turned on and there was a grand meal laid out before them. Plates of seafood, vegetables, rice, and noodles sparkled, making their mouths water. Everyone soon chose their seats, while Hyesun didn’t notice that she was still holding Jihoon’s hand.

Jihoon looked at her and flashed her an apologetic look. If Hyesun’s eyes weren’t fooling her, she thought she even saw a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Come on, let’s sit down,” Jihoon said, motioning for Hyesun to take a seat. “We’re not used to this.”

“This is a lot,” Hyesun said. “Are we not going to eat for days?”

Hyesun sat down beside Chan.

“There’s something going on around here,” Seungkwan said as he suspiciously eyed the plates of food and looked back to the facilitators.

“This isn’t our last meal, right, Professor?” Jeonghan said and laughed nervously.

“It’s not, I assure you,” Professor Kang said. “Now, please, enjoy your meal.”

Everyone was quiet because something didn’t feel right. There was this unspoken tension in the atmosphere but the facilitators told them to just focus on their meal. The food’s power was so great that in no time, all their doubts began to dissipate.

Chan was tending to his noona, while Joshua tended to Hyesun as well.

“Do you want some lettuce wraps, Hyesun?” Joshua asked. He was so kind, caring, and bright that Hyesun remembered why she had a little crush on him at the start of the semester.

“Ah, thank you,” Hyesun said as Joshua presented her the wrap he made.

“Chan,” Jihoon said in a low voice, leaning back to see Chan. “You’re the class beadle, right? Really no clues on where we’re going?”

“Hyung,” Chan said, setting down his drink. “If I knew anything, I would’ve told all of you already.”

“Professor Kang,” Joshua said, raising his hand. “Where are we going?”

The thirteen kids all looked at Joshua, then turned to Professor Kang, anxiously waiting for her reply.

“We’re going somewhere quiet,” Professor Kang answered, earning silent frustrated groans from everyone.

“Heh, they’re really not going to tell us?” Seokmin said through his teeth.

“Somewhere quiet?” Seungcheol said. “And where might that be?”

“I hope it’s somewhere by the ocean,” Hyesun said, looking at the wave patterns on the paper place mat underneath her plate.

“That would be nice,” Hansol agreed.

Just then, one of the facilitators approached their table and handed Hyesun a parcel.

“Huh? What is this?” Hyesun said as she took the parcel in her hands. She looked at it and saw fourteen energy bars. “Why did you give me this?”

“What’s that?” Mingyu asked, leaning over to get a closer look. “Why did she get a package?”

“Why energy bars?” Seungcheol questioned. “Is Jeonghan right? Is this our last meal?”

Everyone started talking nervously among themselves and soon, another facilitator approached them and gave the parcel this time to Seungkwan.

Seungkwan looked shocked too as he took the parcel. “What is this?” He brought the parcel closer to his eyes and read the label. “This is…medicine for headache, dizziness, and for throwing up.”

Chan looked at Seungkwan’s parcel. “It’s medicine for seasickness!”

Over at the end of the table, Jeonghan stood on his knees. Worry was written all over his face. “Seasickness? So we’re riding a boat?”


	2. Drifting

“Oh my goodness,” Seungkwan whined. He looked like he didn’t know whether he’d cry or laugh. “So when are we riding the boat, then?”

“If you say the right word, like a keyword,” Jihoon said. “You get a package.”

The others understood and began saying words that were somehow related to the previous ones.

“Shrimp!” Seokmin called out.

“Fisherman?” Soonyoung tried.

Mingyu sat up and looked around. “What word could it be? I want a package too.”

“Sleeping outdoors!” Seungcheol and Jeonghan shouted, which earned concerned looks from the others in the table.

“Don’t say that!” Joshua said.

This time, it was Junhui and Minghao who had another idea. “Professor Kang punishing us?!”

“How would you like your 96 to turn to a 76?” Professor Kang said, turning to the kids.

Junhui’s jaw dropped. “Ahh, we’d very much like it to remain a 96, professor.” He went back to eating shrimp and smiled shyly at Professor Kang.

“Is it fishing, then?” Hansol tried, looking at the facilitators. He got it. He received a bag of small flashlights. Just like the previous parcels, Hansol’s parcel attracted more questioning looks and another set of doubts.

“Are we going somewhere dark?” Hyesun asked. “Why would we need flashlights?”

“Ocean. Fishing,” Seungcheol repeated some of the keywords. “You’re gonna make us catch what we ate?” He looked at the almost empty plates of food. “Stop eating the seafood!”

Everyone put down their chopsticks.

“ _Yah!_ Whoever ate the most will have to catch the most too!” Seokmin panicked. “Did I eat a lot?”

Wonwoo sat back with his salad, the most carefree among everyone. “You’re all gonna go fishing. I didn’t eat a single shrimp or shellfish.”

The nervous chatter started to build up.

“Drift…drifting?” Soonyoung guessed.

He received a first aid kit.

“Hyung,” Chan said, eyeing the parcel Soonyoung received. “I don’t feel good about all this. First was the energy bars. Then the medicine. After that was the flashlights, and now _this_.”

“We’re going to go hungry, get seasick, be stuck in a dark place, and then we’re getting injured,” Jeonghan said, holding up four fingers, accounting the items and their possible uses.

“Not helping, Jeonghan,” Joshua said.

“I think I wanna go home,” Minghao said, looking like he was about to give up.

“Listen,” Seungkwan said, standing on his knees. “It’s not going to be like that. We’re just going to ride a boat. That’s all.” This earned a couple of nods, but still, doubt was evident in their eyes.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Seungcheol said, trying to ease the tension. “We’re going to have fun just like the previous batches had.”

“Still, I can’t help but feel anxious,” Jihoon said, covering his eyes with his hands.

“The seafood isn’t going to go down well,” Mingyu said, leaning back. “I think I need some of that medicine now.”

Hyesun began to question her decisions. Why did she have to wait to be in the last batch of the trip? Her friends said they all had fun in Jeju. Why was this different? They can’t have different trip locations, can they?

“Kids,” Seungcheol said, standing up. Everyone stopped talking. “We don’t know what’s waiting for us...but we can still be happy if we enjoy it. Isn’t that our motto?”

At that moment, there was a peace that settled among them and Hyesun saw how good of a leader Seungcheol was.

“Since when have we become pessimistic?” Seungkwan said, rallying up their spirits. “Our hyungs and noonas said they all enjoyed their trips. So let’s just think of good things about this one.”

The facilitators left them for a while to have lunch in a separate room and a quiet settled down on the kids.

As soon as the facilitators were gone, Chan broke the silence. “There’s still something fishy here, I’m telling you.”

***

Everything had been fine so far. After their grand lunch, the kids boarded the bus. They were talking comfortably but there was some tension in the air that couldn’t leave. Professor Kang stood up from her seat, signifying their arrival to some place.

“Wando Coastal Ferry Terminal,” Chan read from the building façade. “Yup, boat ride it is!”

The kids stood up from their seats and waited.

“You’ve been quiet,” Hansol said to Hyesun. “You alright, noona?”

“Yeah. I’m fine,” Hyesun replied, drumming her fingers on the headrest in front of her. “Just a bit nervous, that’s all.”

“We’ll be fine!” Junhui said enthusiastically. “Just think of happy thoughts, okay? Happy thoughts. Look at Jihoon, he looks so carefree.”

Jihoon turned around. “Jun’s right. Don’t dwell too much on it, okay?” He offered her a smile and for a bit, Hyesun felt some assurance. “We’ll be alright.”

They walked inside the terminal and not long after they entered, Mingyu began distributing their tickets.

“ _Yeoseodo_ ,” Seokmin read. “Aigoo. So this is where we’re going.”

“Come on, children,” Professor Kang called. “Fifteen minutes 'til departure.”

They walked through the terminal with their suitcases in tow. The tension that had been present earlier turned into excitement as they saw the docks in the distance.

Maybe this was going to be a great trip after all.

Maybe they were just overthinking.

Seungkwan, Hyesun, Hansol, and Chan were busy taking selfies.

“Yeoseodo, here we come!” Seungkwan announced as they approached the docks.

Jihoon took photos of the four friends with Junhui occasionally photobombing them.

“Now, hyung and noona!” Chan said, pushing Hyesun and Jihoon together for a photo.

“Gather up, everyone,” Professor Kang called.

They all stood in one straight line in front of the docks.

“Hmm? Oh, no, thank you. I don’t feel seasick yet,” Jeonghan politely told a facilitator who was holding a plastic bag in front of him.

“Please hand over your phones and wallets,” one of the facilitators said.

“Ohh,” Jeonghan said and surrendered his things. “It’s like a robbery then. I thought it’s a sickbag.”

“Aigoo. Really, hyung?” Seokmin said, wondering at Jeonghan’s aloofness.

“Do we really have to?” Chan asked, looking at the surrendered items. “Professor Kang? Do we have to?”

“It’s all part of the trip,” Professor Kang said, making Chan give up his wallet and phone. “Children, it’s just for five days. You’ll live.”

The rest gave up their belongings and it was evident that there was low morale among them.

“What if my mom calls me?” Wonwoo said, eyeing the plastic bag with their confiscated things.

“What if my thesis professor calls me?” Hyesun joined the inquiry.

“What if my girlfriend calls me?” Junhui piped in.

“You don’t have a girlfriend,” Minghao said, earning a laugh from everyone.

“There will be a telephone at your lodging,” Professor Kang assured her worried students. “Now, can we proceed?”

Facilitators then began distributing large zip locks among the fourteen.

“What is this, Mingyu?” Jihoon asked, looking at the bag in his hands. “In case we get seasick?”

“I don’t know, hyung,” Mingyu said and continued passing the zip locks to the others.

“If this is a sickness bag, why does it have our names on it?” Chan answered. He eyed the facilitators suspiciously. “Will they say, ‘oh, this is Chan’s barf, and this one’s Seungkwan’s’?”

“This doesn’t make sense,” Hyesun said, opening the zip lock.

Everyone looked at their zip locks in confusion, wondering why they received such a thing.

One facilitator stepped forward. “Hello, everyone! The plastic bag you’re holding is going to be your survival kit.”

Everyone’s eyes widened upon hearing the words survival kit.

“We are giving you one minute to make your survival kit,” the facilitator continued. “Starting…now!”

“What in the world?!” Seungkwan wailed.

The fourteen scrambled to open their suitcases.

Hyesun took her essentials bag out and shoved it right in the zip lock. There was still a little space left so she took out other articles like a small towel, socks, and of course, sachets of her favorite tea.

“Hansol!” Hyesun called out. “Your medicine, don’t forget it!”

“Right!” Hansol said, taking out a small pouch. “Thanks for reminding me.”

There was chaos all around. Some struggled opening their suitcases, some had difficulty choosing what to bring. Towels and small articles were scattered on the ground as panic took over them.

“Guys! Wear your jackets!” Seungcheol shouted, and everyone followed, taking out another coat to keep them warm.

Hyesun stuffed the pockets of her coat with gloves, a mask, and a quickly rolled shirt, anything she could get her hands on before the minute ended.

“This is _not_ how imagined the trip would be!” Mingyu cried.

“What’s happening?” Jeonghan said, clumsily packing his things.

“Three, two, one!” a facilitator shouted. “Step away from your suitcases! Let’s board the ferry now!” Other facilitators ushered them away from their belongings.

“No, no,” Seungkwan cried. “You can’t do this! My—my 2000-won lint remover’s still there!”

The suitcases were left in the open and the fourteen were forced to ride the ferry with only their hastily packed survival kits.

“What’s this? What’s going on?” Seokmin questioned.

“Professor Kang?” Hyesun shouted amidst the commotion. She looked over her shoulder to look for their professor. “Professor Kang!”

All fourteen kids and facilitators boarded the ferry, but the gaze of the fourteen participants were still trained on their forcefully abandoned suitcases left on the docks.

“We can’t just go like this?!” Seungkwan screamed. “What about our things?”

“Look!” Seungcheol cried, pointing to someone standing at the docks. “Professor Kang’s not coming with us!”

“What am I seeing?” Jeonghan said, not quite believing his eyes.

“The betrayal,” Junhui uttered.

“The audacity,” Minghao added.

Professor Kang stood at the docks, waving them goodbye with an amused look on her face.

“You know what to put in the evaluation sheet for professors,” Soonyoung said and sighed.

Everyone’s spirits began to sink as they walked inside the cabin, feeling defeated.

“Save us!” Junhui complained, looking at the island they came from, before closing the door of the cabin behind him.

The cabin was filled with people. The fourteen huddled at one corner. Jeonghan was the only one looking so content and carefree. A few moments of silence passed before one of them spoke.

“Well, I really didn’t see this coming,” Seokmin said. “I even packed a humidifier.”

“I didn’t spend 2000 won on a lint remover and not be able to use it,” Seungkwan supplied.

One of the facilitators approached them, earning groans and steeling themselves for what they would be ordered to do next.

“Here comes the rain,” Hyesun said in a low voice.

“You can only bring what fits inside the plastic bag,” the facilitator explained. “For those who got special packages, you are not allowed to put anything else inside them. We’ll come back in a few minutes to check your bags. They must be sealed properly, too.”

More complaints, and a much lower morale.

Hyesun’s bag was full as she fit everything she had as much as possible into the bag. Her tea bags couldn’t fit anymore though. She looked around. Jihoon’s was full. He offered to carry the ramen cups of others. So was Chan’s, Seungkwan was still struggling with his, and Hansol was still fixing his things.

She was about to surrender it to the facilitators, but Joshua took it for her.

“Give them to me,” Joshua offered. “They can still fit in my bag.” He took the tea bags and gently packed them in his zip lock.

“Thank you,” Hyesun said, and Joshua simply smiled back at her.

***

“Okay, good job everyone,” the facilitator said as she checked the last plastic bag. Soon, she left the fourteen to themselves.

Jeonghan still looked so relaxed. “It’s one fine day, isn’t it?”

“I’ve been wanting to do this,” Minghao joined on the relaxed-yet-sarcastic tirade.

Seungkwan, who was annoyed, snapped. “You think this is funny, don’t you? Try surviving for five days with only this!” He poked his plastic bag, which, thankfully, didn’t burst.

Hyesun placed a hand on Seungkwan’s shoulder, calming the boy down. “Shh. Calm down, Boo. Calm down. It’s okay.”

Seungkwan sank back down to his spot and turned to his noona. “They’re being mean to us. This is…this is madness!”

Another moment of silence passed, maybe to gather their thoughts, or maybe to help Seungkwan cool down.

“So we’re gonna be wearing the same clothes for five days,” Jeonghan chuckled.

“Yeah,” Seokmin said. “Good thing I have all my underwear.”

 _Same, girl, same,_ Hyesun thought.

“Well there goes the saying: united we live, separate we die,” Soonyoung shared to everyone.

“We’re really gonna die if we separate, hyung,” Seungkwan said, who seemed to have put his annoyance behind him. The boy even managed to give a little speech and it was effective enough to boost their morale. Hyesun never expected that Seungkwan would have such an effect on people.

“That’s right!” Soonyoung said, bursting with energy. “Who needs pajamas? We can just sleep in our underwear then!”

“Yes, yes, hyung. But let’s tone it down a bit, yeah? There are a lot of people here,”Seokmin said.

“Might be better if we sleep now,” Mingyu said, still looking bitter and hurt at everything that had happened.

“Yeah, we don’t know if we’ll be sleeping at all once we get to Yeoseodo,” Jihoon suggested.

Everyone assumed their preferred sleeping positions. Everyone was lying on the floor except for Hyesun, Hansol, and Seungkwan. The two boys rested their heads on each of Hyesun’s shoulders while Chan stayed by her feet.

“We might not know what’s waiting for us once we arrive, but you know, I’m not that worried,” Seungcheol said. “Because we got Mingyu and Hyesun.”

“Me?” Hyesun asked.

“Yeah,” Seungcheol answered. “I know that we’ll look after one another but it’s great to have another person who knows how to handle situations. I don’t know you that well yet, but I trust you.”

“Thanks, Seungcheol,” Hyesun said. “If we look after one another, we’ll be alright.”

“Hyesun-noona and Mingyu,” Seokmin began. “I think we’ll survive just fine.”

Soon, the kids fell asleep. The space was cramped, but they slept soundly. After about half an hour or so, Hyesun woke up and found that Seungkwan and Hansol had left her and found some napping space somewhere else. Her back was aching from being against the wall for quite some time and so she looked for a new spot to continue her nap. She found one on the adjacent wall of the room, right next to a sleeping Jihoon.

***

Jihoon woke up with a back that’s starting to ache. He pulled his leg towards him but in the process, he felt his feet collide with something. His eyes snapped open and saw Hyesun, sleeping peacefully on her side facing him, but she looked uncomfortable. He watched as she, while in her sleep, adjusted her arm underneath her head to use as a pillow.

After moments of contemplation, Jihoon rolled his jacket into a pillow and carefully placed it under Hyesun’s head. Hyesun had stopped adjusting her shoulders and had gone back to the peaceful state she was in thanks to Jihoon’s gesture. He looked at her for a few more moments before he saw movement in the corner of his eye.

Joshua had woken. When his eyes met Jihoon’s, Joshua offered a small smile of acknowledgement. The rest of the boys began to wake up as well and thankfully, none of them made any noise. Within a few moments after all the boys had woken up, Joshua went over to where Hyesun and Jihoon were, and draped his coat over Hyesun.

“Wow,” Jeonghan whispered. “Joshua, you’re so nice.”

“It’s nothing,” Joshua whispered back. “She must be cold.”

Following Joshua, all other boys gave their coats and draped it over Hyesun.

“Don’t you think she’s going to suffocate?” Seokmin said, turning to Soonyoung.

“Nah, she’ll be fine,” Soonyoung answered.

Hyesun continued to sleep peacefully, warm and comfortable as they continued their journey to Yeoseodo.


	3. Settling In

“Noona, noona,” Chan said, gently shaking Hyesun’s shoulder to wake her up. “Noona, wake up. We’re arriving soon.”

Hyesun opened her eyes and as her vision came into focus, she saw all thirteen boys looking at her. They all greeted her, asking if she slept well and all other pleasantries.

“Hello! Did you sleep well?”

“Did you have a nice nap?”

“Weren’t you cold?”

All thirteen faces, Hyesun wasn’t ready to deal with them, especially just after waking from a nap. She turned her back on them and closed her eyes once more, silencing the boys’ inquiries.

“Do you think she hates us?” Seokmin asked, looking at Soonyoung who was shocked too.

“I would,” Minghao supplied.

It was only then that Hyesun notice the coats blanketing her. She felt extra warm and there was this soft pillow under her head that was so comfortable and smelled so good. She slowly got up and removed the coats carefully.

“Try having thirteen faces staring at you when you wake up,” Hyesun mumbled. “Who wouldn’t be freaked out?”

“She’s got a point,” Jeonghan nodded and looked at Seungcheol.

Hyesun touched the coats that were used to keep her warm and a smile played on her lips. “But thank you. For this.”

“We wouldn’t want you freezing, do we?” Junhui said, reaching over and ruffling her hair.

The boys took back their coats and the last one sitting on her lap was a soft white coat. Her pillow. Everyone except Jihoon had taken back their coats and jackets.

“This must be yours,” Hyesun said, unrolling Jihoon’s jacket and handing it back to him. “Thank you, Jihoon. It’s very kind of you to do this.”

“It’s nothing,” Jihoon said and smiled.

***

By the time the ship docked, the sun had already set.

“Ah! It’s dark already?” Seungkwan said as he alighted from the ship.

As soon as all of them were out, the kids formed a straight line in front of the facilitators for the briefing.

“Do you know where we are?” one facilitator asked.

Seungkwan immediately raised his hand. “Yeoseodo!”

“That’s right. We’re in Yeoseodo,” the facilitator said. “It’s one quiet place where the main sources of livelihood are agriculture and fishing.”

The kids looked around and saw how still everything was. The roads uphill were illuminated by street lights and small houses stood in the distance.

“No cars,” Minghao said, looking at the streets.

“Why do I only see street lights?” Junhui said, squinting his eyes to grasp anything other than emptiness.

“Are there no stores around?” Wonwoo asked.

“This isn’t a deserted island, right?” Hyesun said, earning nervous laughter from everyone.

“Please tell us there are people here,” Seungkwan said.

“Don’t worry. There are,” the facilitator assured them. “Now, we’re giving this commemorative flag to you and you may open it to see the theme of this trip.”

One facilitator handed them a flag. It was Seungcheol who received it.

The kids crowded around Seungcheol to see what would be unveiled.

“Castaways,” Soonyoung read and paled immediately. He turned to Mingyu. “Mingyu, we’re castaways.”

Mingyu looked like he didn’t want to be there as well. “Hyung…”

“Rip this,” Seungkwan said jokingly, holding the flag. “Rip this now.”

“So…welcome to Yeoseodo where you’ll be spending the rest of your trip as castaways. Your first task is to look for the house you’ll be staying at,” the facilitator said.

Hyesun raised her hand. “It’s a real house, right?”

The facilitators all turned to Hyesun. “Yes, it’s real. We’ll not ask you to build one. Unless you want to, that is.”

“Ohh, no, no,” Hyesun said, finally knowing what would come if she further tested the patience of the facilitators. “We’ll just take the real one. The one you kindly booked for us, thank you.”

The kids split into teams to look for the houses. Seungcheol led the team of Hansol, Mingyu, and Wonwoo. Jihoon led the team of Jeonghan, Joshua, Seokmin, and Seungkwan. While Hyesun joined the team of Chan, Junhui, and Minghao led by Soonyoung. The three teams set off into the night, looking for their lodging.

***

“Ahh,” Jeonghan said, breathing in the cold, clean air. “The cold is nice, perfect time to lend your coat to someone, am I right, Joshua?”

Joshua only shook his head at Jeonghan, already knowing where this conversation was going.

“Come on, Joshua,” Jeonghan teased. “Why are you so quiet?”

“But you know,” Seungkwan chimed in, looking like he’s in deep thought. “Ever since Hyesun-noona joined us in this trip, not only Joshua-hyung was more attentive…but Jihoon-hyung seems livelier, too.”

Jihoon turned to look at Seungkwan. “What are you talking about?”

“Seungkwan, now that you’ve said it,” Seokmin said, stopping in front of Jihoon and grabbed his arm. “Hyung, you have a crush on her, don’t you?” He looked at Joshua and then back at Jihoon.

“Let’s just continue looking for the house,” Jihoon said, trying to dodge the subject.

“I saw you put your coat under her head like a pillow,” Seungkwan added. “When was the last time you did that for someone?”

Jihoon looked at his companions and they were all waiting for him to answer. Seungkwan obviously had him cornered. Jihoon made a mental note to never underestimate Seungkwan and Seokmin’s observational skills ever again. “I saw her looking uncomfortable. I just helped.”

“I was uncomfortable many times in the dorm when I fell asleep on the floor doing my projects,” Seungkwan said. “But did you do anything for me? No.”

 _Alright, Jihoon, the secret’s out,_ Jihoon thought to himself. _Best to deny it like Joshua did. Act like nothing happened._

“My, my, my,” Jeonghan said in an amused tone. He turned to look at both Jihoon and Joshua. “You two…this is quite a surprise. I thought it was only Joshua, but turns out, our Jihoon as well…”

“It’s not like that,” Jihoon said, trying to change the tide but it was too late.

“Jihoon-hyung, Joshua-hyung,” Seungkwan said, a smile playing on his lips. “I’m cheering for both of you.”

“Seungkwan, y—“ Joshua tried to say but was cut off by Seokmin.

“Oh! Looks like Seungcheol-hyung’s team found the house!” Seokmin exclaimed, pointing to Seungcheol and his team, waving at them from a distance.

Jihoon’s team met with Seungcheol’s at one corner.

“We’re guessing this is the house,” Wonwoo said, holding a small cardboard with the word _castaways_ written on it.

“What if we hide this signage and not tell the others?” Jeonghan said, but quickly took it back once he saw the sharp disapproving looks Jihoon and Joshua were giving him.

“Alright,” Seungcheol said. “Let’s go.”

The two teams began walking along the small stonewall pathway that led towards the house.

“Uh, is this the right place? Why is it so dark?” Hansol said, and he opened his parcel to distribute the flashlights he received earlier.

They continued along the stonewall path until they saw a house. In front of the house was a small yard, where half of it was a vegetable garden. The house was dark, only the street lights illuminated the surroundings.

“Let’s go inside,” Seungcheol said, opening the door. He pointed his flashlight inside.

“There’s no power?” Seungkwan said after turning on a switch but nothing happened.

“They’re really testing us,” Mingyu said, frowning.

Seungcheol gathered them. “Jeonghan, Joshua, we’ll be looking for the panel box. Seokmin, and Mingyu, look for candles and matches first, we can survey the materials later. Seungkwan, Hansol, and Wonwoo, guard the front yard. Jihoon, look for the others.

***

Soonyoung’s team had been walking around for more than an hour already, and yet they still haven’t found the house.

“Is it this one?” Chan said, pointing to one house towards their right.

“Maybe,” Soonyoung said. He approached the house and carefully opened the door. He poked his head inside. “Hello?” He waited for a reply, but he got none. “Goodbye.”

“You know, inside my head, I knew something like this is gonna happen,” Hyesun said as they continued to walk along the empty streets of Yeoseodo.

“Right?” Chan said. “From the moment we stepped inside that restaurant, I knew we’re gonna be in for something.”

“But here we are,” Junhui said. “Still alive. That’s what matters.” Junhui’s really the god of endless positivity.

“Will we even sleep tonight?” Minghao said.

“Just believe it! We will!” Junhui encouraged, and Soonyoung agreed.

“I’m so tired, hyung,” Chan said, dragging his feet on the ground.

“Just a little more, maknae,” Soonyoung said, placing a hand on Chan’s shoulder. “We’ll find it.”

Soonyoung’s team rounded a corner and ran into Jihoon.

“Jihoonie!” Soonyoung cried, hugging Jihoon. "We've been looking for more than an hour! You guys found the house?"

"Yeah," Jihoon replied, looking at all of them. "They're surveying the house right now. Let's go so we can rest soon."

Jihoon led them up the pathway leading to the house. "Looks like they found the panel box now."

"You mean there wasn't any power when you first got here?" Hyesun asked, looking around.

“Yeah,” Jihoon said. “It was all dark inside.”

Seungkwan and Seokmin welcomed them as they entered the front yard, hugging the last team as they reunited.

"Come on in," Seokmin said, ushering them inside, opening the door for them. "Seungcheol-hyung called for a meeting first. It's about to start."

Hyesun and the others followed Seungkwan and Seokmin to one room and found the rest of their companions sitting on the floor, waiting for them. They assumed their places and sat down.

"Now that we're complete, let's sort some things first," Seungcheol began. "Edible items. Please put them in the center along with the rice, sweet potatoes, and kimchi we found earlier."

Hyesun placed the bag of energy bars in the center. Jihoon and the others took out the ramyun cups they had in their survival kits. Joshua took out instant coffee sachets as well as Hyesun's tea bags. Seungkwan also brought out more instant coffee sachets. Seokmin pulled out a chocolate bar. They shared the chocolate among themselves since they're all so hungry. In a few minutes, all that's left was the foil packaging that held the chocolate.

"I guess this is all we have right now," Seungcheol said. "Everyone, since we are low on resources, let's promise one another that we will never eat in secret, and we must always share what we have. Is that understood?"

Everyone nodded and Seungcheol seemed satisfied with everyone's cooperation.

"Okay. Now that we're done gathering the food items, let's move on," Hyesun said. "Anybody who has medicine or anything that can help treat an injury, place them here. Oh, except you, Hansol. Yours is a prescription."

Soonyoung gave the first aid kit he received. Seungkwan also placed at the center the medicine he got. Others put ointments, menthol, and hand sanitizers.

Seungcheol and Jeonghan organized all their food items on the kitchen counter while Hyesun and Seokmin placed the first aid kit and other items on a small table just outside the bathroom. They called it the medic corner. The four soon joined their companions who moved to the yard to make dinner plans.

"Right, so next agenda: dinner," Soonyoung said. "Let's divide it between the cooking team and the cleaning team. Who will be in the cooking team?"

Mingyu, Minghao, Seungkwan, Seokmin, Seungcheol, Chan, and Hyesun all volunteered for the cooking team. They all stood together on one side of the yard.

"Soonyoung, are you going to cook?" Jihoon asked.

"Oh, no," Soonyoung said. "You guys know how my cooking is."

"Then why are you standing here with us?" Seokmin said.

"Soonyoung, come here," Jihoon said and the rest who were not part of the cooking team went back inside the house.

***

"It says here to use lens to start a fire," Seungkwan said, holding a book on survival he got from the house. 

"There's no sun anymore, Seungkwan," Hyesun said. 

Seungcheol looked around and found an axe and some firewood. Mingyu and the others struggled to start the fire. It took Seungcheol a couple of tries before he had successfully split the firewood, while Mingyu and Minghao had an argument before understanding which method was better.

"This is really hard," Mingyu said, blinking tears as the smoke only got bigger but the fire did not.

"Please, help us," Seungkwan pleaded to the facilitators who were watching them. "Just this once."

"I wanna go home," Chan said, resting as he tried to regain his energy after a long time of fanning the small flame.

The fire took long to start but when it finally did, everyone was in the front yard, waiting to see how dinner would turn out.

The ramyun cups were opened once the water began to boil. The noodles were dropped in and they began to cook. After some time, cooked rice was added and some chili paste. The kimchi was still in deliberation, whether they should use all of it then, or just use half of it so they could have it the next day.

"Don't use all of the kimchi," Seungcheol told Mingyu who was stirring the stew. 

But all the boys were hungry. 

"Add it all to the stew," Soonyoung said and Mingyu followed him, dumping all of the kimchi they had in the pot of stew.

" _Yah!_ We used up all of our ingredients! Are we going to live just for today?" Seungcheol protested, wistfully looking at the kimchi that had been used in one go. He looked at Hyesun for support, but Hyesun could only share an apologetic look. Dividing the kimchi was no match for the boys' hunger.

"We'll worry about tomorrow's food tomorrow," Jeonghan said. 

Hyesun relieved Mingyu in stirring the pot. He had gone to prepare the other course which was steamed sweet potatoes. Once the stew was ready, the rationing began. All 13 boys lined up with their bowls in their hands.

"Please give me a lot," Mingyu begged. "Please, I have two sons."

"Really? I have three," Seokmin played along, but also wanted to have more even though he knew that wouldn't be possible.

"That looks good," Jihoon said, once he came up in the line. 

"It's just ramyun, rice, and kimchi," Hyesun said, filling Jihoon's bowl with stew. "I do hope it's as good as it looks." 

"Thank you," Jihoon said and went to sit on the small platform in front of the house. 

Hyesun finished rationing the stew among the boys and scooped the remaining contents to her bowl. Her heart sank a little when she saw that the stew only filled her bowl halfway, but she knew this was better than nothing. 

"Hyesun, sit here," Jihoon called her, making some space for her on the small platform.

"Wow," Hansol said. "This is so good."

"Tastes better 'cause we cooked it ourselves," Seokmin said and everyone agreed.

"Here," Jihoon said to Hyesun. "Have some more." He held his bowl close to hers, offering some of his portion.

"No need, Jihoon, this is enough for me," Hyesun protested.

"You got a smaller portion than everyone else," he said, placing noodles and rice into her bowl before she could protest again. "We need to eat well."

Hyesun looked at Jihoon and was amazed at how kind and thoughtful he was. She was reminded of Joshua, but she wasn't sure if Jihoon was as kind as Joshua, or even kinder. "Thank you."

"Chan," Seungkwan whispered, elbowing Chan on the arm. "Chan. Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

" _Omo_ ," Chan said, trying to contain his excitement. "I can't with these two! Jihoon-hyung is off to a good start!"

Once the stew was finished, the sweet potatoes were passed around. Hansol was still scooping the rice at the bottom of the pot that had turned to crisps. After clearing the rice pot, Hansol moved to the sweet potato.

"Hansol, are you in a _mukbang_?" Hyesun joked.

"No, it's like he's having brunch in New York," Seungkwan said.

Joshua approached Hyesun, offering her a sweet potato. "Here, Hyesun. Have some. Be careful, it's hot."

"It _is_ hot," Jeonghan said, adding emphasis. He turned to Seungkwan and Chan. "Well, would you look at that."

The ramyun stew was cleared and so were the sweet potatoes. The cleaning team began tidying up the place, wiping the low table and clearing the utensils and everything that had been used for dinner. Hyesun stayed behind to help cleaning team. 

"Thank you, but we got this, Hyesun," Joshua said kindly, taking the basin Hyesun was holding. "You should go inside now. You might get cold."

"Alright," Hyesun said, letting go of the basin. "But don't take too long."

Joshua nodded and smiled. "We'll be there soon."

Hyesun joined the rest of the cooking team who were making their way back inside the house.

***

"You look happy," Jeonghan told Joshua as he scrubbed the bowls and pots with him.

"Jeonghan," Joshua sighed but the smile couldn't leave his face. "Not this again. How many times do I have to tell you—"

"That you like her," Jeonghan interrupted, finishing Joshua's sentence.

Jihoon overheard all of Jeonghan's teasing but he continued wiping the table with Hansol. 

" _Aigoo_. Jeonghan-hyung keeps on pestering Joshua-hyung about this again," Hansol said, snapping Jihoon out of his thoughts.

"Y-yeah, Jeonghan's really enjoying teasing Joshua," Jihoon said.

"But, hyung," Hansol said in a tone that Jihoon heard earlier from Seungkwan and Seokmin.

 _Please, don't ask me about Hyesun_ , Jihoon thought and steeled himself.

"Is it true?" Hansol continued, speaking in a low voice, not as loud as Jeonghan's. "That you like Hyesun-noona?"

Jihoon turned to look at Hansol and Hansol backed away a little from him, the younger boy’s curious expression turned to an apologetic look. Jihoon suddenly felt guilty for unintentionally scaring Hansol. He tried to soften his expression. "Who told you that?"

"Seungkwan," Hansol said shyly. "I'm sorry, hyung, but Seungkwan and Chan had been talking about it since dinner." 

Jihoon made a mental note to talk to Seungkwan but he soon doubted if his talk could make Seungkwan even quiet at the slightest about all this. He looked at Hansol and the boy was sincerely waiting for his answer. Jihoon couldn't find it in him to lie to Hansol's face. "Yes, it's true Hansol." 

Hansol smiled, a genuine and happy smile. "I'm happy for you. Hyesun-noona is great. She's not hard to like."

Jihoon found himself smiling too. He was relieved at how sincere and calm Hansol was about all this.

"Don't worry, hyung," Hansol said. "Your secret's safe with me."

***

After washing up, Hyesun walked into the room where Chan, Seungkwan, and Junhui were fussing over her things.

"Noona, how did you manage to bring almost everything you need?" Seungkwan asked. "Shampoo, toothbrush, perfume, soap."

"You're so prepared," Chan said. He noticed something shiny placed in one of the mesh pockets. "What's this?"

Hyesun pulled out the object that got Chan's attention. She unfolded the object and handed it to Chan. 

"Why do you have plastic gloves?" Junhui asked, turning to Hyesun. "That's a smart way to plan a murder."

"Really, this hyung," Seungkwan said and continued investigating Hyesun's things. "These little rolled guys are…?"

"Plastic bags," Hyesun replied.

" _Daebak_ ," Chan said. "We have a convenience store here with us."

***

When everyone was done with their tasks and all the beds were spread, the group had a final meeting before going to bed. They sat in a circle and waited for Seungcheol to begin.

"We'll be divided into three teams tomorrow," Seungcheol said, holding up three fingers. "Fishing team, village-scouting team, and house team."

Three or four people could join the fishing team while the other two teams could go in varying numbers.

"What's the village-scouting team gonna do?" Soonyoung asked.

"Basically just walk around and check," Seungcheol replied. "A reconnaissance team."

"What about the house team?" Wonwoo asked, raising his hand.

"House team will stay here, maybe do some housekeeping, and check the house for other things available," Seungcheol answered.

It was already established that night that Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Mingyu would be in the fishing team while members of the other teams were still undecided. Their meeting concluded and they went to their rooms. 

Back at dinner, Hyesun was already dreading how the sleeping arrangements would be. But now, as she saw Seungkwan, Hansol, and Chan be her roommates, she was relieved. 

One good thing about the house they're staying at was that the rooms were all connected to one another. They could hear each other easily.

It was just quarter before eleven but Chan was already asleep even with the lights open.

"Noona, can you double check if I got this right," Hansol said, handing his prescription to Hyesun. "I'll only take this one?" He held up one small plastic box.

"Let's see," Hyesun said, reading the prescription. "Yup. You got it right. This also says you need to apply the ointment."

"You know, there's something I find quite out of place," Seungkwan said as he helped Hansol apply ointment on one corner of his mouth. "All the facilitators did was watch us struggle.”

“Yeah, I find that strange,” Hyesun said. “But who knows what they’re planning.”

“Good night, guys,” Seungcheol called from the other room, earning a combination of lively and sleepy replies.

It was only a few minutes after Seungkwan turned off the lights when they heard a knock on the door.

“Really?” Soonyoung said in an annoyed tone. “At this hour?”

Everyone was roused from their sleepy state. The lights were switched on once again. Seungcheol and Hyesun got up and went to the door to see two facilitators carrying something in their hands.

“We’re sorry to disturb you at this hour,” one facilitator said. “But we need to give these to you.”

The other facilitator reached inside the paper bag he was holding folders.

“What are we going to do with these?” Hyesun asked, taking the folders in her hands.

“Please answer the questionnaire briefly before you sleep tonight. Once you’re done, leave them at the doorstep. We’ll come and collect them,” they said.

“Alright,” Seungcheol said. He and Hyesun bid the facilitators a good night and walked back to the rooms. “Just when you thought we could sleep.”  
***

“Are you kidding me?” Seungkwan whined as he opened the folder handed to him.

“What is this for?” Seokmin asked, looking at Seungcheol.

The folders contained questions that could complete the information on someone’s autobiography: _what’s your favorite food? What’s your favorite drink? What do you like most about you? What are your likes? What are your dislikes?_

“Just answer it the best you can,” Jihoon said, quickly scribbling down his answers so he could sleep soon.

They wanted it to be over and most of them soon turned in their folders at the doorstep except for Jeonghan, who seemed to be enjoying answering the questionnaire.


	4. Work For It

Boo Seungkwan had been dreaming.

He had been muttering unintelligible things, and judging by his tone, he sounded like he was complaining. It all ended with a soft but clearly frustrated _aigoo_ ¸ and he went silent.

Hyesun couldn’t sleep anymore after listening to Seungkwan’s sleep talk.

It was only six in the morning but she got up and made her way to the bathroom, carrying her things. She wanted to rest more but knew that it would be a lot harder to shower later, having all thirteen boys awake.

She carefully stepped out of the room she was in, not making any sound.

The house was quiet, the atmosphere was peaceful.  It was a great way to start the day.

***

Seungkwan rolled on his bed, trying to find a comfortable position. He stretched his hand and found an empty space to his right. _Ahh, finally, some space,_ he sleepily thought.

But then he remembered there was supposed to be someone beside him. He slowly opened his eyes, but he only saw Chan, still in deep slumber.

“Noona?” Seungkwan called out weakly.

No answer.

“Noona,” he called again. This time, Seungkwan sat up and rubbed sleep away from his eyes. “Noona!”

He got on his feet and began calling for Hyesun in a much louder and more panicked voice.

“Chan! Hansol! Get up!” Seungkwan said, shaking his two roommates awake. “I can’t find noona.”

Soon, Seungkwan had been checking every room in the house, waking the others in the process.

Jihoon opened his eyes and watched Seungkwan frantically moving around. “What’s the matter with Seungkwan?”

Minghao was still sleepy so he just shrugged his shoulders.

“Hyung! Hyung!” Seungkwan said, entering the room where Jihoon was in. “Wake up! Hyesun-noona’s missing!”

Jihoon quickly got up and joined the search with the others. Soon, the whole house was awake, searching for her.

***

After getting dressed, Hyesun decided to walk around the house and see if there were some interesting things at the back. She found old boxes of magazines and took time reading them while she was perched on a ledge.

She heard heavy and quick footsteps inside the house as well as loud, but muffled noises. It sounded like something was up. It surprised her that everyone was awake just a little past seven. She left the box of magazines and went back to the house to see what was happening.

Hyesun opened the front door and greeted. “Good morning.”

All the boys froze and turned to her, their movements perfectly in sync.

A few seconds of silence passed before the peace was broken.

“ _Yah!_ You call this a good morning?!” Seungkwan burst, pointing a finger and making his way towards her.

All the other boys stepped towards her and threw questions at her.

“Aigoo! Where have you been?” Seokmin said, scratching his head.

“I…I’m sorry if I…I was just walking around the house,” Hyesun said, taking a step back.

“Song Hyesun! You almost gave me a heart attack!” Seungkwan cried, clutching his chest.

Junhui imitated Seungkwan’s action and playfully ruffled Hyesun’s hair.

“Okay, okay,” Hyesun said. “Everyone, I’m sorry for making you worried and for waking you up.”

As soon as she finished, an alarm rang.

“Right. I’m sorry for making you worried and for waking you up _way_ _before_ your alarm,” she said, looking at each one of them.

“We’ll forgive you at 10:10 later,” Soonyoung said, breaking the tension.

“Alright,” Seungcheol said. “Now that everyone’s up, teams should start preparing for the day.”

The boys dispersed while Hyesun approached Seungcheol.

“I want to join your fishing team,” she said.

“No problem,” Seungcheol said. “But is there any reason in particular why you want to go?”

Hyesun sighed. “I’ll catch some fish for you guys as an apology.”

The fishing team prepared and soon went on their way. The village-scouting team set off as well.

Hyesun, Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Mingyu walked to the docks and sought help from one elderly fisherman who taught them the basics in fishing.

“Hyesun, you’re robbing the fishermen of their livelihood!” Jeonghan laughed as Hyesun brought in her twentieth catch that morning.

“Stop fishing, noona!” Mingyu said. “Give me a chance to catch some!”

“Fishing god, Hyesun,” Seungcheol joked. “Please, help me catch something!”

“There, I think that’s enough,” Hyesun said, placing her last catch in the pail and setting aside her fishing pole.

The fishing team went back to the house and found the rest of their friends around a fire, enjoying mixed coffee and dalgona.

“Hey, you’re back!” Seokmin greeted warmly as he approached the fishing team.

“We caught thirty of them!” Seungcheol announced.

Jihoon, Minghao, Chan, Junhui, and Wonwoo all looked inside the pail, amazed at the number.

“They’re mackerels! Hyesun-noona caught twenty of them!” Mingyu said, setting the pail down.

“Noona! That’s amazing!” Chan said, clapping.

“That really is a lot,” Junhui said, looking at the fish then back at Hyesun. “You caught the entire ocean, didn’t you?”

Jihoon and Seokmin brought mixed coffee for their newly-arrived companions.

“I could make you some dalgona, too, if you want,” Jihoon said as he handed Hyesun a cup of coffee.

“Jihoon-hyung’s great at making dalgona,” Chan supplied. "He made mine with a heart."

“Really? I’d love to have some,” Hyesun said.

The fishing team took a quick coffee break.

As Jihoon showed Hyesun how to make dalgona, Chan and Jeonghan were watching in the distance.

“This is sweeter than the dalgona I ate earlier, hyung,” Chan told Jeonghan.

“Mhmm,” Jeonghan said. “Joshua should be getting back soon.”

“How is it?” Jihoon asked after Hyesun took a bite of the sweets they made.

Hyesun only gave a thumbs-up as she finished the rest of the dalgona.

Junhui was looking at the mackerels. “Who’s going to kill these, then?”

Everyone in the yard froze upon Junhui’s question.

“Who’s going to _gut_ them, Junhui,” Seungcheol corrected. “Not _kill._ ”

“Mingyu,” Jeonghan said, going to Seungcheol’s side.

Mingyu took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

After washing the fish, Mingyu went to the low table and Junhui helped him set up the knives and the chopping board.

Mingyu looked nervous as he held the knife against the fish. “I need help. Noona?”

Hyesun sat beside Mingyu and followed Seungcheol’s instructions. “Got it. So I remove the head first like this—“

Both Mingyu and Seungcheol let out groans and shouts of both shock and uneasiness as Hyesun chopped off the mackerel’s head.

“Yes, just like that,” Seungcheol said, slowly turning back to coach Hyesun and Mingyu further. “And then do the same for the tail.”

Hyesun and Mingyu followed Seungcheol’s instructions and soon, the two were skillfully gutting the rest of the catch.

“Oh my god,” Mingyu said as he placed the last gutted mackerel on the chopping board. He turned to Hyesun and did a high five.

“Great job,” Seungcheol said, patting Hyesun and Mingyu on the head. “Jeonghan, Seokmin, Minghao, find the scouting team.”

***

“We got dinner covered!” Jeonghan shouted as he returned with the village scouting team.

“We have rice, too!” Seokmin added, hyping up the goods they had.

The ones at the house all stood up, curious at what the scouting team brought them.

“What’s that?” Wonwoo and Mingyu asked, craning their necks to see.

“Wow! WOOOOW!” Chan cried, amazed at the supplies brought back to the house.

“We just danced and sang _Mansae_ and the kind mother gave us those!” Seokmin said.

There was kimchi, a large bowl of rice, a huge Japanese Spanish mackerel, and two packs of yogurt drink.

“That’s one huge fish,” Jihoon said, looking at the already-gutted Japanese Spanish mackerel.

“Wah! Minghao!” Hyesun exclaimed, looking at the yogurt drink in Minghao’s hands. “You got yogurt!”

“I’m so happy,” Mingyu said as he turned over the mackerel in the grill. “I’m so, so, so happy.”

“I’m so proud of us,” Seungkwan said, overjoyed at the amount of food they had that morning.

Out of joy and her love for yogurt, Hyesun hugged Minghao and squeezed his cheeks. She took one bottle of the yogurt drink. She was about to open it when one of the facilitators approached them.

“Excuse me, everyone,” the facilitator said, making all fourteen of them freeze.

“Yes?” Seungcheol said.

“We’re going to give an announcement,” the facilitator carried on.

In that moment, an uneasy feeling settled over all of them, and their celebratory mood was quickly dissipating.

“We’ll only let you keep the things you worked for,” the facilitator said. “Like the fish, you caught that on your own, right? We’ll let you keep that.”

The fourteen trained their gaze on the fish grilling in front of Mingyu.

“But we can’t let you keep the rice, kimchi, Japanese Spanish mackerel, and the yogurt drink. If you would be so kind, please return them now.”

The fourteen looked at one another with sad eyes and masked frustration.

“We should return it?” Seungkwan said, looking at the kimchi longingly. “I wanted to eat kimchi so bad.”

The others looked down and sighed. While the others looked like they’d be having a hard time to give up their items.

Wonwoo was the first to move and gave up the kimchi.

Soonyoung’s eyes welled as he returned the rice.

Seokmin turned over the Japanese Spanish mackerel.

Everybody’s spirits hit rock bottom.

“Come on, guys,” Jihoon said, trying to lift their spirits up. “We have the mackerels. This is better than what we had yesterday.”

“That’s right,” Junhui piped in, the god of endless positivity now tried his best to make his friends feel better. “It’s amazing how we improved, right? It’s alright.”

Hyesun’s hand tightened on the yogurt drink and held it close to her, not wanting to give it up. “But I…I love yogurt.” She looked at Jihoon and Junhui, as if pleading to them for support.

Jihoon didn’t know what to do or what to say. They’re basically helpless.

“Can’t she at least keep one bottle?” Junhui bargained like a brother would for his sister. “Just one?”

“I’m sorry. It must be returned,” the facilitator said.

“I’m sorry, noona,” Minghao said as he took in his hands the yogurt bottle Hyesun handed to him.

The goods had been surrendered and they all looked so down.

Mingyu and Hyesun turned their attentions back to the mackerels they were grilling.

“But if we didn’t plan to fish today, what would you have done?” Seungkwan asked.

“Well, we’d just watch you,” the facilitator said.

They all sighed upon hearing it.

Seungkwan turned his back and rested his head on Hansol’s shoulder. Soonyoung hung his head.

“You want to repeat what you just said?” Hyesun joked, turning a knife in her hand.

“Really, this noona,” Seokmin said, trying to lighten up the mood.

“Careful with that knife,” Junhui said, nervously laughing as he took a step away from Hyesun.

“But having no plan is not even an option here,” Jeonghan said in a serious tone. “We do what we need to do to survive.”

***

“The mackerel’s good, but I’m still hungry,” Seungcheol said to Jeonghan and Joshua who were both lying next to him in a room for a short morning rest.

“I can’t really feel full if I don’t eat rice,” Jeonghan said.

“Same here,” Joshua agreed, adjusting the comforter.

One of the facilitators walked inside the room, surprising the three boys.

“Just checking if this portable lamp’s fully charged,” the man said, and bent down to retrieve his lamp at the foot of the three boys.

As soon as the man had finished putting away the cord of the portable lamp, he turned to the three. “The others were too harsh on you during breakfast, weren’t they?” the man said.

“No, sir,” Joshua replied, sitting up a little bit. “Not at all.”

“Well, they were,” Jeonghan said frankly.

The man only laughed. He bent down and pulled something out of his pocket.

It was a chocolate bar and he handed it to Seungcheol with a smile on his face. “Don’t worry. It’s a secret.” He held a finger to his lips and Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Joshua did the same gesture.

The man left the room, leaving the three boys to themselves.

The chocolate bar made them so happy. Seungcheol was giddy with excitement.

“Chocolate always saves the day,” Joshua said, turning to his side, facing the chocolate in Seungcheol’s hand.

“What if the three of us just eat it?” Jeonghan suggested, his hand making its way to the chocolate. “What do you say? Right here, right now. And not tell the others?”

“Yoon Jeonghan, you’re showing your true colors,” Seungcheol commented. He got up and called their other companions inside one by one.

“Hyesun!” Seungcheol called, and stood beside Hyesun who was cleaning some utensils at the yard.

Once Hyesun had her attention to him, Seungcheol pulled out a chocolate bar from his pocket, careful not to let any of the facilitators see it.

“What the?” Hyesun whispered excitedly and tried hard not to smile.

“Follow me,” Seungcheol said and pretended to help Hyesun with the cleaning.

Hyesun dried her hands and followed Seungcheol back inside the house and into the room where Jeonghan and Joshua were. “Where did you get this?”

“One facilitator gave it. He said it’s a secret,” Seungcheol replied. “Joshua, hold on to the chocolate for now. I’ll call the others. We can all have a bite, but do it under the sheets. We can’t be caught.”

“Uh, sure,” Joshua said and held up the sheets, waiting for Hyesun to join him and Jeonghan.

Hyesun went under the sheets and sat down as she watched Joshua open the chocolate bar.

Joshua gave her the chocolate. Hyesun moved closer and took a bite.

“It’s really good,” Hyesun said and dabbed her mouth with her hand.

“Is it?” Joshua said and handed the chocolate to Jeonghan, signaling his turn with the candy bar.

Seungkwan and Chan went inside the room upon Seungcheol’s invitation.

“I’m already here, hyu—” Seungkwan said, but he didn’t notice where he was going. He tripped and fell on the sheets, pushing Hyesun to Joshua.

“Ow,” Seungkwan said, massaging his knee. 

“You alright?” Chan said. He heard the complaints coming from his left so he and Seungkwan lifted the comforter.

“ _Omo_ ,” Seungkwan and Chan said, eyes widening at the scene before them.

Hyesun was on top of Joshua, both looking confused.

“Noona…Hyung,” Chan slowly said. “I…uh… I mean we…we didn’t mean to…”

“You may…continue,” Seungkwan said, covering Hyesun and Joshua again with the sheets.

“What?” Joshua said.

Jeonghan only laughed.

Hyesun got up and followed Seungkwan to the kitchen. “Seungkwan! You forgot your share!”

Seungkwan looked so amused. “I don’t need the chocolate. I’m feeling full already.”


	5. Two Leaders

"Hello, eomma? Eomma!" Soonyoung said but the call ended, and Soonyoung cried in such a dramatic way that sounded like he was in deep agony.

Minghao only laughed at him.

“Here you go,” Soonyoung said dejectedly, handing the receiver to Hyesun. “My family doesn’t want to talk to me.”

Hyesun dialed the number of her mother. “Hello? Eomma? Sorry I wasn’t able to text. Our phones were turned over at the start of the trip.”

“More like taken,” Seungkwan said to Hansol in a low voice, and Hansol smirked.

It was a little after lunch and the kids were given time to call their families and they took turns in doing so.

“Yes, yes, we’re doing fine,” Hyesun said in a cheerful yet forced tone.

“What is she talking about?” Seungcheol commented, resting his back against the wall.

“We’re all having a great time, Eomma,” Hyesun continued to lie. “Are the twins awake?”

“Haneul and Haru,” Hansol said excitedly.

“They are? Okay, let me talk to them,” Hyesun said, and talked to her eight year-old twin brothers. “Don’t worry about me, okay? Noona is eating well. We have lots of delicious food here. Oh, you’re giving it back to mom? Yes, yes. I’ll call you when I get back. Alright. Love you. Bye bye.”

“Noona, really?” Seungkwan said once Hyesun hung up.

Hyesun sighed. “Of course I need to lie. If she knew what’s really happening, all hell will break loose.”

“I miss you, Eomma,” Soonyoung said, lying down.

There was a knock on the door.

“What could it be this time?” Jeonghan said, getting up to answer the door. It took Jeonghan a few seconds before he came back and when he did, everyone was looking at him.

“Dress up, we’re going to the docks,” Jeonghan said, picking up his coat.

The fourteen of them went out and went to the docks, wondering what fate awaited them this time. They saw all the facilitators waiting for them and so, in an act of unity, they all linked their arms and walked on in full force.

In the distance, there was a table that held precious items and it caught the kids’ attention.

“What is that?” Seungkwan asked, squinting his eyes to see well. “Is that food?”

“It looks like food,” Seokmin answered Seungkwan.

“Hyung, it _is_ food,” Seungkwan said and was the first one to break away from the group and run towards the table.

The rest ran after Seungkwan and when they reached the table, they all stopped to look at the grocery items laid carefully in front of them, waiting to be taken.

“Hello, everyone! Welcome to our afternoon activity. We’ll be playing a series of games and these items will be the prizes,” one facilitator said. “Now, for the first game, it’s a test to see how well you know each other. Please pick two emcees among you and let’s begin.”

Seungkwan and Seokmin volunteered and the game began.

“First up, this is going to be about Seungcheol-hyung,” Seungkwan said. “Hyung, please sit at the stool at the center.”

“Remember, hyung, you can’t answer since this question is about you,” Seokmin reminded.

“They’re using the questionnaire we answered last night?” Jihoon said, quickly piecing things together.

“If you, Choi Seungcheol, were a girl, who among the boys would you like to date?” Seungkwan read off a card.

Everyone began talking among themselves.

“I think it’s Jeonghan-hyung,” Mingyu said to Wonwoo.

Jeonghan raised his hand.

“Yes, Jeonghan-hyung?” Seokmin acknowledged.

“It’s me!” Jeonghan confidently said, smiling.

“That is incorrect,” Seungkwan said. “Second chance! Who wants to try?”

“Me! Me!” Soonyoung called.

“Yes, Soonyoung-hyung?” Seungkwan said.

“Jihoon!” Soonyoung answered.

“No,” Seungcheol said, shaking his head.

“ _Yah_ , Soonyoung!” Jihoon called amidst the laughter. “Why would you say that? If you were a girl, would you want to date me?”

“Maybe!” Soonyoung shouted. “I don’t know since I’ve never been in a relationship before.”

Seungcheol gave a clue. He was already pointing to himself, the others got that right, but the reason, they got that wrong.

“Next up! Hyesun-noona, come on down!” Seokmin announced, and led Hyesun to sit at the stool placed in front of the boys.

“This is Song Hyesun’s go-to drink,” Seungkwan read.

Everyone looked at one another and talked amongst themselves again.

Whoever would get this right would prove that they knew her well, Hyesun thought.

Chan raised his hand to answer. “Matcha latte!”

“Wrong!” Seokmin said.

Joshua tried this time. “Strawberry yogurt drink?”

“Still incorrect!” Seungkwan announced.

“Come on! Anyone else who wants to try?” He looked around and was extra energetic when he saw Jihoon raising his hand. “Yes, Jihoon-hyung? Please get it right, I want that kimchi package!”

 _Please say cold brew, Jihoon, cold brew, cold brew_ , Hyesun thought, looking at Jihoon.

“Cold brew,” Jihoon said to Seungkwan’s improvised microphone.

“That is correct!” Seungkwan shouted and everyone celebrated, jumping around and clapping.

Hyesun got up and hugged Jihoon. She thought it was amazing how Jihoon knew that.

“Now, hyung, pick an item,” Seokmin said, motioning to the grocery items on the table. “I highly recommend you take the kimchi package.”

And kimchi package it was. Jihoon carried the basin with spices, oil, gochujang, and cabbage, joining the others.

“Good job, Jihoon-hyung,” Mingyu said, clapping him on the shoulder.

“We’re off to a good start, everyone! Let’s make sure to get all the ingredients!” Seungkwan yelled energetically now that they had won a kimchi-making package. “Next! We have Hansol! Vernon! Chwe!”

“Name one of Hansol’s favorite rappers!” Seokmin said.

“This is hard,” Junhui said. He raised his hand but he looked quite unsure. “Can you be more specific? Is it a plastic brand, or a foil brand?”

Seungkwan, Seokmin, and everyone else with them broke into laughter. Soonyoung and Jihoon doubled over, clutching their stomachs. Hansol, who was at the stool, fell off from his stool from laughing too much. Wonwoo and Chan leaned on a cackling Mingyu, all three were at the ground. Minghao was on his back, trying to breathe. While Jeonghan and Joshua both held on to a Seungcheol who was covering his mouth with hand.

“Really, this hyung,” Seokmin said, wiping his eyes that welled from laughing too much. “It's not _wrapper!_  It’s rapper! Like a person. Ayo, yo, yo, yo.”

“We’re not asking for cling wrap, plastic bag brands, Junhui-hyung,” Seungkwan said weakly, still recovering from his laughing fit.

“Ahh,” Junhui said, realizing his misunderstanding. He still had his hand raised though. “Me again! Pick me! I still know it.”

“Are you sure, hyung?” Seokmin asked before breaking into giggles.

“Drake!” Junhui said.

Seungkwan’s eyes went wide as he heard the correct answer come from Junhui the joker himself. “I can’t believe he still got it right?!”

“Love you, hyung,” Hansol said as he got up and hugged Junhui, who then proceeded to pick a pack of anchovies.

“I’m seeing a full dinner table already, am I right, Seungkwan?” Seokmin said, getting excited as their prizes were stacking up.

“Yes, you are right, Seokmin-hyung!” Seungkwan said, returning the same energy as Seokmin. “Now, let’s have…me! Soonyoung-hyung, kindly be my sub.” Seungkwan took his place on the stool.

“I got you, Seungkwan,” Soonyoung said, stepping in to be the sub-emcee. “Name another favorite show of Seungkwan, aside from King of Masked Singer,” Seokmin said.

“Jeonghan!” Jeonghan shouted, raising his hand.

“Yes, hyung?” Soonyoung asked.

Seungkwan turned around to see if Jeonghan really did know the answer.

“Volleyball programs!” Jeonghan answered confidently.

“That is correct!” Soonyoung announced and clapped.

Seungkwan stood up, overjoyed by the fact that his Jeonghan-hyung paid attention to what he watched. “Ahh! Hyung! I’m your sunflower forever!”

Jeonghan picked squid and chili pepper paste.

The next questions were answered correctly and soon, the kids’ food supplies were growing. Even on the second game, they won again and their items were steadily increasing. They were all feeling alive now that they had a lot of food, which they knew weren’t going to be asked to be returned at some point.

As Seungcheol won the final match of arm wrestling against another facilitator, all fourteen were celebrating, and they grabbed the remaining items on the table as a sign of their victory.

***

Everyone gathered at the front yard to plan their dinner.

Mingyu, noticeably in high spirits, led the cooking team and decided on their menu. He proposed to prepare fried anchovies and squid, and vegetables in jjajang sauce. Seokmin stepped up and offered to cook seaweed soup for dinner. Seungkwan who was feeling extra lively, volunteered to make something himself.

“I’ll call my mom and ask her how to make kimchi,” Seungkwan said, raising his hand.

“Ahh, I miss eating kimchi,” Wonwoo said and looked at Seungkwan. “I wish you luck, Seungkwan.”

“I’ll show you all how we do it in Jeju,” Seungkwan said.

The fourteen broke into three teams once again. There was the fishing team still led by Seungcheol but now comprised of Jihoon, Joshua, and Junhui. The cooking team led by Mingyu had the constant fire starters, Chan and Minghao, Soonyoung, the reliable Seokmin, kimchi-maker Seungkwan, and Hyesun. While the cleaning team led by Jeonghan had Hansol and Wonwoo.

The cooking team began to prepare the ingredients and start the fire. Hyesun, Soonyoung, and Mingyu peeled the garlic while Seokmin and Seungkwan removed the heads of the anchovies.

“See, if you remove the head, you remove the poop as well,” Soonyoung said.

Seungkwan looked confused and held up one anchovy. “Don’t they poop through their lower body?”

“Anchovies poop through their heads,” Seokmin said, setting aside the head of the anchovy he was holding.

“Really? How come I don’t know that?” Seungkwan said.

“I can’t wrap my mind around it,” Mingyu said. He stood up and pretended to be an anchovy pooping.

“I don’t know, but my friend had a gold fish before and it had like this…uh…trailing thing by its tail,” Hyesun said, pointing to the part of the anchovy where the body met the tail.

The ingredients had been prepared and the fire was ready. The anchovies were cooked first with garlic, soy sauce, and syrup. Seokmin then proceeded with making his seaweed soup. Hyesun and Soonyoung cut potatoes and onions which Mingyu mixed into the jjajang sauce.

***

“Chan, come here and try this,” Seokmin called their youngest and held out the ladle to him. “Try this for me.”

Chan sipped the broth. “It’s good, hyung!”

“Seokmin’s really good with the seasoning!” Hyesun said and patted Seokmin on the shoulder.

“What about this one?” Mingyu asked, getting a spoonful of his jjajang sauce, and fed it to Chan.

“It’s almost like my mom’s cooking,” Chan said, making Mingyu smile.

“Ahh, I’m so proud of you,” Soonyoung said softly, clasping his hands together. “Well done.”

"Soonyoung," Hyesun called. "You good?"

Soonyoung nodded and smiled.

A faint singing was heard in the distance.

Hyesun stood up to check and she saw the fishing team making their way back to the house. She stood at the entrance of the yard and waved at the new arrivals.

Seungcheol, Joshua, Junhui, and Jihoon all waved back at her with triumphant smiles on their faces.

“Looks like someone’s been waiting,” Junhui whispered to Jihoon.

“Oh, they’re back!” Seokmin said, setting down the ladle he was holding. “Hyung, what did you catch?”

“Spipe fish, man!” Seungcheol said, proud of their catch that afternoon. “We got some spipe fish!”

“Look!” Hyesun said, pulling Jihoon and Joshua to show what they made for dinner. She lifted the lid and showed the potatoes and onions in jjajang sauce.

"That looks great," Jihoon said, and Joshua agreed.

“Junhui-hyung,” Seokmin said, lifting the lid to show his proud work. “Seaweed soup.”

Junhui was amazed and ruffled Seokmin’s hair. “We finally get to eat because of Seokmin!”

The dinner preparation was almost finished and everyone was excited to eat a real meal.

Seungcheol surveyed the ingredients, making sure they still had some left for the days to follow. “Guys, have you seen the dried squid? Was it cooked too?”

“Squid?” Mingyu said. “Ahh, the squid.” He nervously looked at Seokmin.

“They ate it earlier,” Wonwoo said. “It’s inside the house. Sealed it properly so it stays crispy.”

Hyesun stared at Wonwoo. The fishing team turned to the cooking team with questioning looks.

“Those who ate the squid, show yourselves,” Seungcheol said, he didn’t sound angry, but disappointment was written all over his face.

“I’m sorry, hyung,” Mingyu apologized, his eyes downcast. “But I only ate a little.”

“I ate too,” Minghao admitted.

Seokmin apologized as well, so did Soonyoung and everyone who took part in the act.

“Seungcheol,” Hyesun said, stepping in between the fishing team and cooking with the cleaning team.

“Did you eat, too, Hyesun?” Seungcheol asked.

Hyesun knew herself as a person who didn’t like confrontation but she didn’t like the tone Seungcheol used and how the others looked so scared. She opened her mouth to speak but Soonyoung answered first.

“She didn’t,” Soonyoung said. “But I was the one who first ate.”

“How can you eat by yourselves when we have little resources?” Seungcheol questioned, looking at all the people who ate whose eyes were downcast. He turned back to Soonyoung. “Soonyoung, didn’t we all promise one another that we will not eat in secret?”

Soonyoung nodded. “I’m sorry, hyung. It’s just that—“

“Seungcheol, listen to me,” Hyesun said, pulling Soonyoung behind her, and taking a step towards Seungcheol. “I know how little resources we have and I know the promise was broken, but come on. Cut them some slack.” She looked at Seungcheol and waited for him to say something but he didn’t, so she continued.

“Soonyoung started to feel lightheaded a while ago,” Hyesun explained, and she saw the stern look vanish from the fishing team’s faces.  “We made him drink water, but that didn’t help. I was the one who told them to open the dried squid.”

“Noona,” Soonyoung softly said, tugging on her sleeve.

“I understand how you want to keep things in order,” Hyesun said. “Because you just want what’s best for them, right? But they’re my concern too. I can’t just let one of them faint or let them continue doing tasks on an empty stomach.”

Seungcheol tried to say something but Hyesun continued to make her point.

“But, I also understand the importance of rules in our situation right now. So if there’s anybody who should be punished, it should be me. Not them,” Hyesun finished.

A few moments of silence passed and everybody was looking back and forth from Seungcheol to Hyesun.

Seungcheol nodded, as if coming to a resolution. “Everybody who ate the squid,” he paused, looking at each of the guilty ones in the eye. “Is forgiven.”

Everybody let out a sigh as the tension had been broken.

Hyesun nodded to Seungcheol in thanks as the rest talked among themselves.

“Alright. Everyone, let’s finish preparing dinner so we can all eat soon,” Jeonghan said, ushering the others away. He must have sensed that Seungcheol and Hyesun needed to talk more.

“I’m sorry,” Seungcheol apologized. “I was too focused on saving our resources that I didn’t know Soonyoung was already feeling unwell. I shouldn’t have been too strict.”

“There’s no need to be,” Hyesun said. “We’re both just keeping an eye out for everyone. It’s just natural for arguments like this to happen.”

Seungcheol nodded. “I want to thank you. For taking care of everyone. How are you so good at this?”

Hyesun smiled and shook her head. “I have younger brothers who are twins. I _have_ to be good at looking after people.”

“What I said yesterday still holds,” he said. “That I may not know you well enough, but I trust you. And now, I trust you even more.” He held out his hand to her.

Hyesun shook hands with him and smiled.

Jeonghan approached them. “Come on, you two, food’s getting cold.”


	6. Truth Or Dare

Soonyoung was quietly eating his dinner when another bowl of vegetables in jjajang sauce was held in front of him. He looked up and saw Seungcheol the one offering the bowl.

“Hyung,” Soonyoung said. Seungcheol sat down and placed the bowl next to Soonyoung. He gave Soonyoung a small smile.

“I’m sorry for singling you out a while ago. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s alright, hyung,” Soonyoung said, returning the smile.

“Why didn’t you tell me? How long have you been feeling lightheaded?” Seungcheol asked worriedly.

Soonyoung finished his first bowl then moved to eat the bowl his hyung brought for him. “Ever since we started going back here. I didn’t want to worry anybody. Hyesun-noona was just too good and knew something was going on with me.”

Seungcheol placed a hand on Soonyoung’s shoulder and squeezed. “Tell us, next time, okay? Don’t keep it to yourself.” He looked around and decided to make an announcement. He used a louder voice so everyone could hear him. “Listen, everyone. If any one of you isn’t feeling well, please say so, understood?”

“Yes, hyung,” the rest answered.

***

“But really, that’s some quality drama material back there, noona,” Seungkwan said, pointing to Hyesun. “I really felt your character’s fighting spirit to defend Soonyoung-hyung.”

“You could win KBS’s best actress,” Chan said, joining.

Seokmin set down his bowl and chopsticks and assumed a serious expression. “’If there’s anybody who should be punished, it should be me. Not them’.” His eyes were wide open.

“Then the frame freezes,” Seungkwan said, holding his hands up. “Screen turns to black and white, soundtrack plays, then credits!”

As expected, everyone in their corner, Seungkwan, Hansol, Hyesun herself, Mingyu, and Minghao, all laughed.

“Yah! Seokmin, noona’s eyes weren’t like that,” Mingyu said, covering his mouth.

“You’re crazy, hyung,” Hansol said, almost falling back.

Minghao smiled and cutely placed his head Hyesun’s shoulder. “Thank you for what you did earlier, noona.”

***

After dinner, they all stayed in one room. They were given another opportunity to call their families.

It was Wonwoo’s turn on the phone, but he was having a hard time talking to his mother since everyone was loudly laughing in the room. His mother began to think that he was in a party, and that he was drinking.

“I swear, Eomma, I’m not drinking,” Wonwoo said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He covered the receiver with his hand and turned to his friends. “Guys, can you tone it down a bit?”

“Sure, Wonwoo,” Junhui said but there was a playful glint in his eyes.

“Thanks,” he said and went back to the phone.

Contrary to what Junhui had promised, he, Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Soonyoung, and Jihoon decided to have some fun.

While Wonwoo was convincing his mother that he wasn’t drinking, all five of them chanted, “Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!” and made rowdy noises.

“ _What is that?!_ ” Wonwoo’s mother asked in an angry tone from the other end of the line.

“Eomma, they’re just playing ar—“ Wonwoo tried to say but was cut off by Seungcheol.

“Wonwoo!” Seungcheol teased. “Have another shot!”

“Yes! That’s my boy, Jeon Wonwoo!” Soonyoung urged.

Wonwoo looked at them, pleading for his life.

The rest of the group who was enjoying watching Wonwoo’s agony on the phone joined in on the fun.

“Cheers!” they all roared and burst into laughter.

Wonwoo facepalmed and braced himself for what was to come next.

“ _JEON WONWOO! I’M CALLING YOUR PROFESSOR AND IF I HEAR_ —“ his mother bellowed.

Wonwoo ended the call abruptly and scratched his head. He looked very pale. “I’m dead.”

“Don’t worry,” Jeonghan said. “We’ll be there at your funeral.”

***

The fun from teasing Wonwoo had died down and they were now in separate groups once again. Some were just lying around talking to each other in hushed tones while there was one group that was beginning to get lively, grabbing the attention of the rest.

Hyesun, Seungkwan, Hansol, Seokmin, Chan, Mingyu, and Minghao were all playing Truth or Dare using a water bottle.

Hyesun spun the bottle and it pointed to Seungkwan.

“Truth or dare, Boo,” Hyesun said, setting the bottle aside.

Seungkwan stretched his arms and looked like he was getting ready for something. “I’m feeling good. Dare me, noona.”

“Ahh, brave man,” Seokmin said, clapping his hands.

“Brave man from Jeju!” Hansol cheered, massaging Seungkwan’s shoulders.

Hyesun, Minghao, and Mingyu talked among themselves, consulting each other what would be Seungkwan’s dare. Minghao looked so amused while Mingyu was already cracking up.

“Alright, Seungkwan,” Hyesun said, sitting up straight. “We dare you to act like Seungcheol’s pet penguin.”

“ _Yah, yah, yah,_ what’s going on? Why did I hear my name?” Seungcheol asked, looking at Hyesun’s group suspiciously.

“Oh, this is interesting,” Jeonghan mused, turning his attention to the ones playing the game.

“Is that all, noona?” Seungkwan said arrogantly. He got to his knees and wore the neckline of his jacket to his head, effectively covering his hair and making him look like a penguin. He bent his arms to his sides and flapped them as he made his way to Seungcheol. He snuggled with Seungcheol and hugged him.

Seungcheol looked like he didn’t know whether he would laugh or be shocked at what was happening. He played along and made Seungkwan follow some orders. “Okay, Penguin Boo. Clap your hands!”

Penguin Boo clapped and jumped cheerfully, entertaining everyone in the room.

“I can’t believe Seungkwan unlocked new level of cuteness,” Hyesun said amidst the laughter.

“Very good!” Seungcheol said, obviously pleased, and patted Penguin Boo’s head. “Now, Penguin Boo, please sing us a song!”

Penguin Boo stopped clapping and his face went serious. He looked at Seungcheol, as if he was waiting for something.

“ _Kikiki, kiki, kikiki?_ ” Penguin Boo communicated, still looking at Seungcheol.

“He said he needs you to tell him what song,” Seokmin translated for Penguin Boo.

“How do you know what he’s saying, hyung?” Hansol chuckled.

“A new level of weirdness, too,” Chan said to Hyesun, watching Penguin Boo communicate with his owner.

“Oh! Sing _Mansae_ for us,” Seungcheol said, trying not to laugh.

“ _Kiki, Kikiki_ ,” Penguin Boo said. He stood at the center of the room, not moving for a few moments.

They waited for Penguin Boo.

“ _Jamkkan sonyeoya jeoldae neon! Dareun saramege nokjima_ ,” Penguin Boo sang and danced as well. “ _Naega jiltu najanha_.”

Everyone lost their minds when Penguin Boo sang actual words and not his made-up words.

“ _Jamkkan sonyeoya jiguembuteo!_ ” Seokmin stood up, singing and dancing along with Penguin Boo. “ _Neol naekkeorago bureul geoya_.”

The rest of the boys joined, some clapping, singing, while the others joined Seokmin and Seungkwan in dancing.

“ _Mansae, mansae, mansae_ , yeah! _Mansae, mansae, mansae_ , yeah!”

Hyesun clapped along and saw how wonderful the boys’ friendship was.

“ _Maeil neoreul kkum kkuji wo!_ ” Wonwoo finished. He looked more alive now than he did a couple of minutes ago.

Everyone clapped and Penguin Boo bowed a few times.

“Penguin Boo is the best!” Seungcheol cheered.

In turn, Penguin Boo held up two finger hearts to Seungcheol.

After enjoying Seungkwan’s performance, the rest decided to join the game Hyesun’s group was playing.

Seungkwan spun the bottle and it pointed to Jeonghan.

“Me? Oh dear,” Jeonghan said, running a hand through his hair.

“Jeonghan-hyung, truth or dare?” Seungkwan asked.

Jeonghan paused, thinking of his choice. “Truth.”

“Who’s your favorite person in this room?” Seungkwan challenged.

Seungcheol, Joshua, Seokmin, and Chan all looked at Jeonghan expectantly.

Jeonghan looked so torn about who to pick. Jeonghan sighed and hung his head. After a few moments, he sat up straight. “Please don’t get mad at me. The person I pick right now might not even be my favorite in the next hour. So those who wouldn’t get picked, please don’t hate me.”

“Enough with the explanations and just say who already,” Seungcheol demanded.

“I pick Joshua,” Jeonghan said, putting a hand on Joshua’s head.

Joshua’s eyes went wide but then he looked so pleased with the result.

Seungcheol looked so betrayed as he stared back at Jeonghan in disbelief. “Yoon Jeonghan…You’ve hurt my feelings.”

“You keep bugging me with that ‘ _Dino, nugu aegi_ ’ again and again and you don’t choose me? I really can’t believe you, hyung,” Chan said, shaking his head in disappointment.

Seokmin also joined the I’m-disappointed-with-Jeonghan party. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and put on a pout. “I keep saying I’m Jeonghan-hyung’s fool but you don’t pick me. I feel more betrayed that the time Professor Kang ditched us.”

Jeonghan went to his disappointed buddies and hugged them one by one.

“Okay, enough with the drama,” Jeonghan said, taking the bottle from Seungkwan. “Let’s continue the game.”

The bottle stopped spinning, this time, it pointed to Jihoon.

“Truth or dare, Jihoon,” Jeonghan said in his singsong voice that Jihoon knew all too well.

When Jeonghan spoke in that tone, it meant that there was something he was planning.

Jihoon weighed the situation. If he chose truth, there was almost no way to deny it. On the other hand, if he chose dare, whatever Jeonghan would make him do would only be for the sake of the game. When it came to Jeonghan, Jihoon learned that one must always think two steps ahead.

_That’s right. If I chose dare, there will be nothing to it_ , Jihoon thought.

Jihoon sat up straight and looked Jeonghan straight in the eye. “Dare.”

Jeonghan’s eyes lit up, a dangerous smile playing on his lips. “Oh, dare, you say?”

Jihoon saw the look of mischief on Jeonghan’s eyes and he steeled himself for whatever he would make him do.

“I dare you to hold hands with Song Hyesun,” Jeonghan challenged.

“ _Hold hands with noona?_ ” Seungkwan echoed. He looked like he couldn’t believe any of it.

Jihoon cleared his throat and pretended that he wasn’t nervous at all. “Is that all?”

“I’m not yet finished,” Jeonghan said, holding up a hand.

“ _He’s not yet finished?_ ” Seungkwan continued to echo, cracking up everyone else as he set the atmosphere.

“I dare you to hold hands with her all night,” Jeonghan finished.

“ _ALL NIGHT?_ ” Seungkwan, Hansol, and Chan said in unison.

Seungkwan stood on his knees. His eyes were sparkling like he was about to see something spectacular. Hansol looked from Hyesun to Jihoon. Chan had a hand over his mouth.

“All night,” Jeonghan confirmed.

The rest of the group all looked excited. Jihoon felt his heart pound in his chest. He thought of a hundred things he could’ve done just to avoid being in the situation he was in at the moment. Everyone was waiting for him, so without further a due, he stood up and made his way towards Hyesun.

Seungcheol, Junhui Soonyoung, and Seokmin were getting butterflies.

Jihoon sat down beside Hyesun. “You don’t mind if I…” Jihoon asked. His brain went blank. He just held out his hand as the words died on his lips.

“It’s fine,” Hyesun said and smiled. She laced her fingers with Jihoon’s.

Seungkwan collapsed on the floor, clutching his chest. Hansol was clapping his hands in laughter at Seungkwan who was being overly dramatic. Chan looked like he just saw something he shouldn’t be seeing. Seokmin and Junhui screamed like they just won the lottery.

It was overall chaos.

Jihoon looked down at their hands and facepalmed for many reasons: embarrassment, laughter, and nervousness.

“Out where we can see it!” Jeonghan demanded, looking very pleased with himself.

Jihoon pointed to Jeonghan and shook his head. _Gosh, he really did it_.

He brought their intertwined hands up and settled it on his lap. He didn’t dare look at Hyesun.

“Are you blushing, noona?” Seungkwan asked. “OH MY GOD! SHE IS BLUSHING!”

Jihoon took a quick glance at her and saw that Hyesun did have tinted cheeks.

_Calm down, Jihoon. Calm down,_ he thought. Jihoon spun the bottle and it pointed to Seungcheol.

“It’s you, hyung!” Seokmin said, pointing to Seungcheol.

“I’ll go with truth,” Seungcheol said.

Jihoon decided to get back at Jeonghan with his question for Seungcheol. “Who’s your favorite person in this room?” He knew that Seungcheol felt betrayed when Jeonghan chose Joshua.

Seungcheol looked at Jeonghan and smiled triumphantly as he knew he was about to get revenge. “Soonyoung.”

“Really, Seungcheol?” Jeonghan said, staring daggers at Seungcheol.

Soonyoung hugged Seungcheol. “I’m Seungcheol-hyung’s flower.”

“So that’s how it is, huh?” Jeonghan said, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

“Yes, Jeonghan,” Seungcheol said, hugging back Soonyoung. Seungcheol spun the bottle and it pointed to Joshua.

***

“Joshua, Jeonghan’s favorite person,” Seungcheol emphasized. “Truth or dare.”

Joshua paused for a moment, weighing the odds of each choice.

“Dare,” Joshua said, but there was something in his eyes that challenged whatever Seungcheol would make him do.

Seungcheol nodded. “If there’s someone you like in this room, go and ask them for a slow dance. But if that person isn’t here, then just dance _Mansae_.”

_So we’re digging each other’s secrets now?_ Hyesun thought and made a mental note of how ruthless Seungcheol could be sometimes.

It was a rare sight for Hyesun to see Joshua so serious. In the classroom, he always had this light aura surrounding him. He was always smiling and was always so bright.

She saw Joshua look at her and as Joshua was approaching, she felt Jihoon’s fingers tighten their hold around hers.

She looked at Jihoon and saw his gaze trained on Joshua.


	7. Hunting Party

Joshua was halfway across the room when they heard a knock on the door.

“Really? Now?” Seokmin said in mild annoyance.

Joshua stopped and looked at the direction of the door. “I’ll get it.”

He came back to the room a few seconds later. “Guys, it’s the village’s head fisherman.”

Their game was cut short. The group gathered at the kitchen where they met with the head fisherman.

"Good evening, everyone," the fisherman greeted. "Since you are going to stay here for a couple more days, it's the village's resolution to recruit you in our day to day activities.”

“Recruit us?” Seungkwan whispered to Hyesun.

“For tomorrow, we will need five of you. Three for fishing and two for barnacle harvesting,” the fisherman continued.

"Thank you for informing us, sir," Seungcheol said, speaking on behalf of everyone. "We'll talk among ourselves and we'll be sending them tomorrow."

"Alright. I'll be off now, have a great night," the head fisherman said and bid them goodbye. 

Seungcheol walked him to the entrance of their lodging. As soon as Seungcheol got back, a decision was quickly made. Seungkwan and Hansol would be the barnacle team, while Junhui, Soonyoung, and Seokmin would be the fishing team.

Some prepared to go to bed or in Seungkwan's case, prepared to make kimchi. 

Seungkwan had Mingyu, Joshua, Seokmin, and Soonyoung assist him in making the kimchi. All the rest washed up and prepared to retire for the night.

"Jihoon, remember, I said all night," Jeonghan said, reminding Jihoon of the dare even if the game was over. "Oh, look at the time, it's just quarter to ten. Good luck."

Jihoon looked at Hyesun who had just come out of one room and was now standing beside him. He turned to Jeonghan. "But we need to sleep, you know."

"Then sleep next to each other," Jeonghan said and walked away, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He stopped walking and looked over his shoulder. "You'll have to treat me to my favorite restaurant if you don't do the dare."

"What is up with him?" Hyesun said, looking at Jeonghan who had just entered one room. "Is he usually like this? Terrorizing people for fun?"

"I'm sorry," Jihoon apologized. "You don't have to do this. I'll just hope that he forgets about it."

"Jeonghan doesn't look like he forgets easily," Hyesun said. She laced her fingers with Jihoon's, making Jihoon look at her. "I don't really mind continuing the dare. Do you?"

"Oh...I-no. I don't mind, too," Jihoon said. He wanted to save himself from further embarrassment but he liked holding her hand. And he didn't want to spend money on Jeonghan too.

Jihoon and Hyesun walked inside the room where Hyesun stayed with Chan, Hansol, and Seungkwan. At the moment, only Chan and Hansol were in the room. The two boys looked up at them as they entered.

"You'll be sleeping here, hyung?" Chan asked, looking at the bedding and pillow Jihoon and Hyesun held in their free hands.

Jihoon nodded. He and Hyesun set up the extra bedding for him.

He and Hyesun sat down, joining hands once again. 

"I'm sorry about earlier," Jihoon said.

"About Jeonghan? It's nothing, really" Hyesun said.

"No, about the squid incident. Sorry for questioning you guys. We shouldn't have been quick to judge," he explained.

"It's all good now," Hyesun assured Jihoon, covering his hand with her other one. "Seungcheol and I are on good terms. The issue has been settled."

Jihoon smiled. "That's good to hear then."

To pass the time, Jihoon and Hyesun read through a book on survival. They looked at pictures and stopped at a few pages to talk about things. But the reading session didn't last long since Hyesun was slowly becoming drowsy.

"Now that is one quick way to start fire," Jihoon said, pointing to a picture on the book on his lap. When he heard no response from Hyesun, he looked at her and saw that she had already fallen asleep. 

Hyesun opened her eyes after a few moments and looked at Jihoon. "I'm getting really sleepy, Jihoon."

Jihoon set the book aside. "It's alright. You can go to sleep."

Hyesun settled down. She lied on her side facing Jihoon. He pulled the blanket over her and held her hand.

"Good night," Hyesun said. 

"Good night," Jihoon said in return.

"Don't stay up too late. Go to sleep soon."

"Don't worry, I will."

Jihoon passed the time reading the book on survival he and Hyesun were browsing moments ago. Every now and then, he would look at Hyesun and turn back to the book. 

Little did Jihoon know that Hansol and Chan were watching him from their side of the room, keeping track of how many times he would look at Hyesun. There was no internet in their lodging, and there was nothing else to do so they had to at least come up with something entertaining for both of them.

"Six," Chan counted, adding another line to the scribbled lines on the sheet he was holding.

"What does it mean if it reaches ten?" Hansol asked.

"It means he really likes her," Chan replied.

Minutes passed and soon, Jihoon felt sleepy too. He put down the book he was holding and settled down beside Hyesun. He lied on his side, facing her, and closed his eyes.

Hansol and Chan also settled down and prepared to sleep as well.

"How many was it?" Hansol whispered to Chan.

"It went beyond ten. When it reached eleven, I gave up counting," Chan replied in the same soft tone so Jihoon wouldn't hear them.

"Good job, hyung," Chan said sleepily.

"What?" Jihoon asked.

Hansol slapped Chan's shoulder. "Oh, we meant good night. Good night, Jihoon-hyung."

***  


"Keep mixing until all leaves are covered," Seungkwan said to Mingyu and Joshua who were helping him make kimchi.

"Seungkwan's kimchi is looking good," Joshua said.

"I'm really, really excited to eat this tomorrow," Mingyu said. He took a small piece and tasted it. "It's almost like the one in our house."

"Soonyoung-hyung, Seokmin-hyung," Seungkwan called. "Come try the kimchi." He fed small pieces to Soonyoung and Seokmin and waited for their reaction.

"It's fresh," Soonyoung said.

Seungkwan laughed and shook his head. "You know that fresh could also mean it only tastes like cabbage."

"He means it’s refreshing," Seokmin corrected, holding a thumb up.

Seungkwan, Mingyu, and Joshua were placing the kimchi inside a pot when Soonyoung grabbed their attention.

“Ow!” Soonyoung was heard saying.

“Hyung, are you alright?” Seokmin said, placing a hand on Soonyoung’s shoulder.

Seungkwan looked at them and saw Soonyoung doubled over, hand covering his nose. “What happened?”

Mingyu and Joshua looked concerned too.

“Hyung, are you hurt?” Seungkwan asked, removing his gloves and going to Soonyoung.

Soonyoung stood up and removed his hand that covered his nose.

“Oh my god, Soonyoung-hyung!” Seungkwan cried. “You’re bleeding!”

“He’s what?” Joshua said, going to Soonyoung, with Mingyu following behind him. His eyes widened upon seeing Soonyoung’s bloodied nose. “What happened?”

Seungkwan ran inside the house and alerted the entire household. “Guys! Guys!”

Everyone was roused awake, wondering what Seungkwan was screaming about in the middle of the night.

Hyesun got up and rubbed her eyes. Not long after, Jihoon got up as well.

She saw a frantic Seungkwan enter their room.

“Noona! Soonyoung-hyung’s hurt!” Seungkwan announced and ran to the other room, calling Seungcheol.

“What did you say?” Hyesun said. She went to the living room and took the first aid kit from the medic’s table. She and the others ran outside.

“Soonyoung! What happened to you?” Seungcheol asked worriedly. He held Soonyoung’s hand that was covering his nose.

Soonyoung looked blank but then he broke into a grin as he wiped the blood off his nose.

“ _Yah!_ So that wasn’t real?” Seungkwan said, storming towards Soonyoung.

Seungcheol and the rest groaned in frustration, except for Junhui who was the only one looking amused.

“ _Aigoo,_ this kid,” Seungcheol said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“What’s that on your nose then?” Hyesun demanded, pointing to Soonyoung.

“ _Gochujang,_ ” Soonyoung admitted and pouted, trying to get the rest of them to laugh at his prank.

Mingyu and Joshua were just about to start washing all the bowls, utensils, and basins they used for the kimchi when Hyesun stopped them.

“Mingyu, Joshua,” Hyesun said. “Soonyoung will be the one to wash all of that.”

Soonyoung’s jaw dropped.

Seungcheol turned to Hyesun and did a high-five with her. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

Soonyoung began to clean up and just when everybody was making their way inside the house, one facilitator called for them.

“Everyone,” the facilitator said. “I know it’s late, but we have one more activity for you.”

They all looked at one another as if to say, _seriously? An activity at this hour?_

“It will be a treasure hunting activity,” the facilitator explained. She held up a drawing of a key for them to see. “There are three of these keys hidden somewhere around here. These keys can be used at the end of your trip to unlock bonus items.”

“Bonus items?” Jeonghan said.

“Yes,” the facilitator answered. “Get the keys and I assure you, there will be a happy ending.”

“Happy ending? I like where this is going,” Mingyu said, getting ready.

“Please pick six members who will go on the hunting party,” the facilitator explained as she handed three maps and three stopwatches to them. “You will be given three hours to look for the keys. The time starts once you step out of the front yard.”

Seungcheol gathered them at the front yard. “Those who will be working tomorrow will not be included in tonight’s hunting party. So, who wants to go?”

Mingyu, Seungcheol, Hyesun, Jihoon, Wonwoo, and Joshua all raised their hands.

“Chan and Minghao are staying with me,” Jeonghan said, looping his arm with the two boys.

They all went back inside the house.

The ones who would be working were now resting as well as Jeonghan’s house team of Minghao and Chan.

The hunting party prepared to go out and they all met at the front yard a few minutes later to devise a plan.

“Okay, I’ve checked the maps and they all show different locations,” Seungcheol said, opening the maps on the low table for everyone to see. “There are two locations here among the village houses, and the third one is by the seawall.”

“We split into three teams of two then,” Mingyu said. He took a sheet from a pile of papers used for fire. He tore them into six pieces and wrote symbols in them. Soon, he folded them into small shapes and made the hunting party members pick.

“On three, we show what we picked,” Jihoon said. “One…Two…Three.”

They each held up their pieces of paper. Mingyu and Wonwoo showed circles. Hyesun and Joshua had stars. Jihoon and Seungcheol had triangles.

Jihoon’s heart sank a bit when he saw that Joshua and Hyesun were teammates.

Joshua on the other hand looked bright at the moment.

“Okay, for the locations,” Seungcheol said. “Hyesun, where would you and Joshua go?”

Hyesun and Joshua consulted each other.  

“We’ll go to the seawall,” Hyesun said and looked at Joshua as if to confirm.

“Alright, Jihoon and I will go here,” Seungcheol said, pointing to one of the locations in the village. “Mingyu and Wonwoo, you take the second one in the village.”

“Got it,” Wonwoo said, taking the map.

They studied their maps for a few moments to know which routes to take.

“What’s this?” Jihoon pointed to the text at the bottom of the map, the words were bold and in capital letters. “ _Don’t make a sound._ ”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Seungcheol asked, looking at Jihoon.

“We got them too,” Hyesun said, looking at Joshua.

“ _Watch your step,_ ” Joshua read off the map he and Hyesun held and both had confused looks on their faces.

“ _Run like the wind_ ,” Mingyu said, reading the sentence on their map.

Wonwoo shook his head and looked at each of them nervously. “Don’t make a sound. Watch your step. Run like the wind. I don’t like how these sound.”

“It’s like they’re warnings,” Mingyu said grimly.

Seungcheol ruffled Mingyu’s hair. “Kim Mingyu, can’t you see the night’s already dark? Why do you have to make it darker!”

“In any case, we have to get the keys,” Hyesun said, snapping everyone to attention.

They all looked at one another and nodded. All of them wanted to get that happy ending.

They joined hands. “One, two, three. Fighting!”

They stood up, synchronized their watches, and set out into the night.

***

Joshua and Hyesun walked briskly to their location. More than once, they checked and double checked and they’re in the right place. The two of them stood on top of the sea wall. They were the only ones there. Of course, who would be there at this hour?

Now their problem was how would they find the key in this kind of place? The streetlights lit the wide open space but there was nothing to be seen except bare concrete. It could take them hours to find it.

“Where could that be?” Joshua asked. He and Hyesun went in separate directions to cover more ground but Joshua saw nothing.

Hyesun looked around as well, but she got nothing. She stood by the railing and checked the map again.

At that moment, she saw a blue light blinking from the corner of her eye. Hyesun immediately turned to where the light was coming from.

It’s from the boulders below.

“Joshua!” Hyesun called. “Joshua! Look at this!”

Joshua went to her and he saw the blue blinking light too. “Could that be it?”

They checked their map and they only noticed just now an illustration of a stairs just above the big red X that marked the spot.

“We have to go down there,” Hyesun said and looked at Joshua. “But how are we going to go down?”

“There’s a stairs over there,” Joshua pointed to one end of the sea wall. “This is where we went fishing this morning.”

Hyesun followed him and soon, they were in front of the stairs. It had a railing, but the steps were steep and narrow. Moss had covered parts of the steps, making it slippery.

“So that’s why the map said _watch your step_ ,” Joshua said, piecing it together.

“Of course,” Hyesun said. She was about to take a step down the stairs but Joshua stopped her.

“Hyesun, wait,” Joshua said, holding her wrist. “It’s dangerous. You don’t have to. I’ll check it myself.”

“No, Joshua,” Hyesun calmly said. “I’m going with you.”

Joshua looked her in the eyes and when he saw that defiance in her eyes, he gave in. “Alright. But promise me you won’t take any hasty action, okay?” He held out his pinky finger.

“I promise,” Hyesun said, completing the gesture.

It didn’t take long for Hyesun and Joshua to descend the narrow and moss-covered staircase. In a few moments, they were already standing on the shore of boulders, with the blue blinking light a couple of meters ahead of them.

The waves were so loud and sea water sprayed on the uneven rocks, making their path difficult.

“Alright, last stretch of the course,” Joshua said. “Hyesun, stay in front of me where I can see you.” He took Hyesun’s hand and placed her in front of him.

“Okay, let’s go,” Hyesun said and took the first step up on one boulder.

Joshua followed closely behind her, on alert of their surroundings, and of Hyesun as well. They still had two hours before the deadline. Time was on their side.

Joshua was actually surprised to see that Hyesun was graceful and agile on her feet. She never missed a step and she had good balance.

After crossing the path of boulders, they reached the place where the blue light was coming from. They shone their flashlights on it and saw the item hidden behind small rocks. They removed the rocks and found the key that was lighting up inside a small clear box.

Hyesun reached down and took the box. She held it up with a triumphant smile on her face. “We did it!”

Joshua joined her in celebration too. “Yes! We did it, Yeoseodo!” He turned to Hyesun and pulled her in for a hug.

She returned the hug and pulled away first. “Let’s get back to the house.”

Crossing over the path of boulders didn’t take long and soon, the two of them were happily making their way back to the house. They sat down at the low table on the front yard and waited for the other teams to arrive.

***

Seungcheol and Jihoon stood in front of a small house. Its windows are dark which could mean the house was empty, or its residents were fast asleep.

“Well, this _is_ the place,” Jihoon said, looking at the map he was holding. “There’s none other than this.”

Seungcheol’s gaze remained on the house before them. “Are they asking us to break into this house? Is this even legal?”

Jihoon surveyed the path that led to the house. There were no gates, like it was asking them to walk right in. “Maybe they told the owner of the house.”

“Told him what? That there will be two college boys breaking in?’ Seungcheol interjected. He sighed. “In any case…Jihoon, if we get arrested, I just want you to know that it’s been a pleasure working with you.”

Jihoon elbow Seungcheol on the arm. “Come on, don’t talk like that.”

“So, the key’s in the kitchen?” Seungcheol confirmed.

“Yes,” Jihoon replied.

“And we have to be quiet,” Seungcheol added.

“Map said so,” Jihoon answered.

Seungcheol and Jihoon walked across the front yard as quietly as they could. They didn’t want to find out what would happen if they made a sound.

Jihoon placed his hand on the door and twisted the knob. His eyes went wide as he found that the door was unlocked.

Seungcheol covered his mouth with his hand. He whispered. “You’re right, maybe they are expecting us.”

They brought out their flashlights and started looking for the kitchen.

Jihoon felt like they’re somewhere they shouldn’t be in. It’s the first time he’d ever trespassed in someone else’s house. A million thoughts raced through his head as he imagined what would happen if they got caught. _Stop thinking that way. Stop it now,_ Jihoon told himself.

In his periphery, Jihoon saw a blue light blink. He shone his flashlight in the direction of the blinking light and saw the kitchen. He reached out to Seungcheol and pulled on his sleeve.

Seungcheol looked surprised when he saw the blue light blinking. “Is that the key? That’s the key, right?”

Seungcheol followed Jihoon into the kitchen and they found that the blinking blue light came from underneath a tower of pots and pans.

Jihoon cursed under his breath while Seungcheol facepalmed.

 _Don’t make a sound,_ the warning echoed in Jihoon’s head.

With an hour and a half to go, Jihoon and Seungcheol set to work, removing the stack of pots and pans carefully and quietly one by one.

The weather in Yeoseodo was cold but the two boys broke a sweat. The removed pots and pans were stacked neatly on the opposite side of the kitchen. They got the key and found that it was inside one small clear box.

Jihoon and Seungcheol hugged and their celebratory cheers came out in whispers.

The two boys exited the house quietly and once they were back on the streets, the two had freely voiced out their emotions.

“Seungcheol and Jihoon!” Seungcheol shouted.

“Jihoon and Seungcheol!” Jihoon answered.

“Got their happy ending!” The two cheered.

Seungcheol and Jihoon got back to their lodging and found Hyesun and Joshua waiting for them.

“Jihoon,” Hyesun greeted, hugging Jihoon as he arrived. “You’re back.”

Jihoon’s heart pounded and he hugged her back. “Yeah. We got our happy ending.”

“Hyesun and I got our happy ending, too,” Joshua said cheerfully.

“Right,” Jihoon said, sitting down beside Hyesun on the low table. _Your happy ending?_

“You guys haven’t seen Mingyu and Wonwoo?” Joshua asked Seungcheol.

“No, we haven’t,” Seungcheol replied.

***

Mingyu and Wonwoo found the place quickly thanks to their quick thinking abilities but what cost them time was how to get inside the location. They followed the map and found themselves standing in front of a goat pen.

The two of them saw a blinking blue light. Mingyu shone his flashlight on it and saw that it was the key inside a small clear box.

“It’s good that the it’s out in the open,” Mingyu said. “We wouldn’t have to dig up anything.”

“What’s not good are the goats in front of it,” Wonwoo said, eyeing the horned goats.

On the first try, both of them approached the goats but the animals were aggressive. They bleated loudly and one even bumped his head on Mingyu’s bottom, scaring the tall boy.

On their second try, Wonwoo tried distracting the goats by calling them so Mingyu could get his hands on the key but the goats also ran towards Wonwoo, making the boy run somewhere else. The goats saw Mingyu and chased him off too.

On their third try, the roles were reversed. It was Mingyu who distracted the goats this time.

“ _Meeeehhh,”_ Mingyu bleated, following the goats. “ _Meeeeehhh. Meeeeehhh._ Quickly Wonwoo, they’re coming towards me.”

“I’m trying,” Wonwoo said in a frantic, singsong tone. “But two of them are coming to _meeeeehhh_ too.”

Both boys were chased away again.

“This is hopeless,” Mingyu said, dusting himself off. “We got thirty minutes left. I’m so hungry, Wonwoo. I need food.”

Wonwoo’s eyes went wide. “You’re right! Mingyu, you’re right! We need food!”

“Yeah, I know, but we don’t have anything with us right now,” Mingyu said, not quite getting Wonwoo yet.

Wonwoo ran off and started surveying the properties within the vicinity. “Mingyu! Go and look for some crops!”

Realization dawned on Mingyu. “Wonwoo! You’re a genius!”

They looked around and saw an abandoned garden.

Wonwoo hurriedly pulled out some crops like carrots.

“Wonwoo, are we allowed to do this?” Mingyu asked. “We’re getting things without—“

“Do you want to get that happy ending or not?” Wonwoo said.

Mingyu pulled up more carrots and soon, the two made their way back to the goat pen.

“Give me the carrots. I’ll distract them, you get the key,” Wonwoo said, taking the carrots from Mingyu.

“Will this work?” Mingyu asked.

“It should work,” Wonwoo said. He turned to the goats and held up the carrots. “Hey, guys, look what I have here! You like carrots? You like them? They’re freshly picked from the garden!”

The goats slowly walked towards Wonwoo. Mingyu laughed as he saw Wonwoo sweetly talking to the goats. He’d never seen Wonwoo talk like that ever.

Mingyu snapped himself out of it and turned his attention back to the key. Only one more goat remained in front of it. “Come on, buddy, just go to Wonwoo. Please. Please. Please.”

Wonwoo let go of some of the crops and the goats began to eat their snack. Mingyu saw an opening and dashed for the key. He got it but Wonwoo’s slowly being mobbed by the other goats, asking for more treats. Wonwoo slowly made his way to the entrance of the pen where Mingyu stood.

One goat bleated angrily and the rest of the animals began to chase the two boys.

The boys ran as fast as they could back to their lodging.

Never in their lives did the two think they’d be chased by goats in the middle of the night.

Wonwoo looked behind him and saw the goats still chasing them. “Are those even real goats Why are they obsessed with us?”

“Just run, Wonwoo!” Mingyu shouted. “RUN LIKE THE WIND!”

Mingyu realized that there was still one small carrot in his pocket so he reached for it and threw it behind him. He didn’t look back to see whether the goats stopped for it or not.

“Two minutes left!” Wonwoo shouted.

***

Only two minutes were left on the clock and Mingyu and Wonwoo were nowhere to be found.

Hyesun, Seungcheol, Joshua, and Jihoon were getting worried.  The facilitator stood with them, looking at her watch.

It didn’t take long until they heard shouting and loud yet quick footsteps.

The four members of the hunting party scrambled at the entrance of the front yard and saw Mingyu and Wonwoo furiously running towards them. The two looked so tired and beaten so the four of them urged Mingyu and Wonwoo that they could make it.

“Come on, Mingyu! Wonwoo!” Seungcheol shouted, clapping his hands.

“You’re almost there!” Hyesun cheered.

“Just a little more!” Jihoon encouraged.

“You’ll make it! Come on!” Joshua called.

“Five…four…three…” the facilitator counted down.

Mingyu and Wonwoo arrived just in time with their key, both of them dropped to the ground to catch their breath.

“Congratulations! You have obtained all three keys for the happy ending!” the facilitator said. “Please keep them for now and you’ll be using them at the end of this trip. Great job and good night. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

The facilitator left the house of the fourteen kids.

Hyesun, Seungcheol, Joshua, and Jihoon knelt beside the exhausted Mingyu and Wonwoo.

“What happened to the two of you?” Seungcheol asked, handing him a water bottle.

“Yeah, you look like you’ve been chased,” Jihoon added, giving Wonwoo a drink.

“Demon goats,” Wonwoo said, panting.

Mingyu drank all the water in a matter of seconds. “Yeah. Definitely demon goats.”


	8. Are You Kidding Me? Kimbap-Kidding?

“ _Under the sea, under the sea_ ,” Hansol sang and danced in his purple suit for barnacle-harvesting as they made their way to the docks. “ _Up on the shore they work all day_ —“

“Hansol, please sing something else,” Seungkwan said. “Or else we _really_ might end up _under_ the sea.”

Seungcheol, Mingyu, and Hyesun walked the fishing and barnacle teams to the docks to send them off.

The fishing team of Junhui, Soonyoung, and Seokmin were dancing as they boarded their boat.

“We’ll catch a lot today!” Junhui shouted, waving his hand to his friends back at the docks.

“Good luck!” Seungcheol replied. “Do you have seasick medicine with you?”

“We have it here!” Soonyoung answered, tapping his breast pocket.

“We’ll come home soon!” Seokmin called and belted out a song about saying goodbye.

Hyesun, Seungcheol, Mingyu, Seungkwan, and Hansol waved them goodbye and soon, the fishing team’s boat was far for the eye to see.

“You two ready?” Mingyu asked, turning to Hansol and Seungkwan.

“We are!” Hansol said, jumping up and down as if warming up. “Aren’t we, Seungkwan?”

Seungkwan held up a hand to Hansol to make him quiet down a bit. “Yeah, we are.”

“My Baby Boo’s nervous,” Hyesun said, placing a hand on Seungkwan’s head. “It’s gonna be fine! Hansol will take care of you.”

Hansol boarded the boat first with a slow-walking Seungkwan trailing behind him. Soon, the two of them were on their boat.

“Be careful, you two!” Hyesun called from the docks.

“Take care of each other!” Seungcheol reminded.

“Until we meet again!” Mingyu added.

“You’re sending us off as if we’ll be gone for a long time!” Seungkwan answered.

***

The ones left at the house either huddled around the fire at the front yard or stayed indoors to rest. The day was much colder than the previous one. But what made it colder was the fact that they just heard from the facilitators that the fishing and barnacle teams were enjoying a lunch of fish and ramyun. Back at the house, they couldn't find anything for lunch. They had other food items, but they couldn’t sacrifice them anymore.

Seungcheol went inside the house and came back a few moments later holding the pack of dried squid in his hands.

"I thought we shouldn't be eating while the others are away?" Wonwoo said, trying not to smile as he watched Seungcheol turn on his own word.

"They're having fish and ramyun," Seungcheol said, removing the clip that closed the lid of the packaging. "They won't notice this squid disappearing." He took a piece and began passing the package around.

"Noona," Chan said, getting a piece for Hyesun.

"No, thank you, Chan," Hyesun said, declining the offer.

"Are you sure? But you don't have anything to eat," Chan said, the piece he was holding was drawing nearer to his mouth.

Hyesun looked around and saw Wonwoo munching on an energy bar. "I'll be fine, there are still some energy bars left. I'll eat one of those. You can have my share of the squid."

"Okay," Chan said and ate the piece he was holding.

Soon, the dried squid disappeared after making rounds among the hungry house team but they're still hungry. Seungcheol then decided to fish, bringing Joshua, Wonwoo, and Jihoon with him.

"Catch a lot for me!" Jeonghan called from the entrance of the front yard as he and the rest bid the four goodbye.

"I will! I'll catch a lot for the children!" Seungcheol said looking over his shoulder and raising his fishing pole.

"I hope we catch a lot," Jihoon said.

"I hope so, too," Joshua agreed. "I wish I still had my energy bar. Wonwoo, are there any energy bars left in the kitchen?"

"I ate the last one a while ago," Wonwoo answered.

Seungcheol sighed. "Then we _really_ have to catch a lot."

***

Jeonghan and Hyesun had just finished folding the blankets when Minghao called them.

"I found paint," Minghao said, looking excited. He led Jeonghan and Hyesun to the shed at the back of the house and showed them a box full of paint cans and brushes.

"That's a lot of cans," Mingyu said, taking one paint can and studying it.

"We could paint the front of the house," Hyesun suggested. "Want to do that, Minghao?"

Minghao looked very happy as he and Mingyu carried the box to the front yard. They took out the contents and began distributing aprons and pencils among them.

"I'm not so good at drawing though," Chan said, twirling the pencil in his hand.

"We've got Minghao," Jeonghan said, patting Minghao's head. "I'm sure it will turn out great."

After ten minutes of conceptualizing, the five began to sketch on the white front wall of the house to translate their ideas. Jeonghan drew an angel at the right. Chan drew two speakers on both side of the window. Minghao sketched Yeoseodo below the window. Hyesun drew fourteen small figures on top of Minghao's sketch. Mingyu drew the ocean surrounding the island.

Mingyu and Hyesun headed over to the paint and gave their friends the color they wanted.

"Is paint usually this thick?" Chan said, mixing the thick yellow paint and then applying it on the wall.

"That's weird," Mingyu said, looking at his can of paint.

Hyesun looked at the other cans and saw a can of dilutant. "I think you should mix this in first."

The boys approached Hyesun and she poured the dilutant into their cans.

Jeonghan tried applying the paint and it worked better on the wall this time. "There, all better."

Minghao painted fishes and trees and soon, their art was coming to life. He seemed to be in a very good mood as he was humming as he laid out words to be written on the left portion of the wall

Hyesun began painting the fourteen small figures in different colors. "See, Chan? That's you!" She pointed to one figure with the label Chan written underneath it. Chan's figure seemed to be dancing.

"Wow, that's nice, noona," Chan said, bending to look at Hyesun's work. "I like the color of my jacket there."

"Chan," Jeonghan called from the front yard. "Why does it look like a monster?"

"It's not a monster, hyung!" Chan said, defending his work. "They're speakers. It only looks like a monster to bad people."

***

"Great job, everyone," Jeonghan said, clapping his hands. "We have succesfully ruined—I mean, painted our first house."

Chan, Minghao, and Mingyu all looked pleased with the result of their work while Hyesun took a seat on the low table, resting her head on her hands. Jeonghan noticed her silence and walked to her.

"Are you okay, Hyesun?" Jeonghan asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Mingyu, Minhao, and Chan stood behind him.

Hyesun didn't look up. She just nodded. "Just a...just a headache. That's all."

If there was someone here who was good at seeing through people aside from Hyesun herself, it was Jeonghan. And Jeonghan knew she wasn't feeling well.

"Chan, take her inside. Mingyu, prepare her bed. Minghao, help me clean this up," Jeonghan quickly ordered.

"Can you stand, noona?" Chan asked, holding her arm.

"I can," Hyesun answered weakly but was able to stand up. She declined any help from Chan and Mingyu but the two followed closely as she made her way to one room.

"Mingyu, you don't have to, I can do that myself," Hyesun said, leaning at the doorway.

"Almost done, noona," Mingyu said, quickly setting up the blankets and pillows on the floor. He was done in seconds. "There."

Hyesun went to bed and pulled the blankets.

"You should rest for a while," Chan said, fixing the sheets.

Mingyu placed a hand on her head to check. "Well, at least you don't have a fever. Does your head hurt too much?"

"A bit," Hyesun answered, placing a hand over her eyes.

My head hurts a lot, Hyesun thought to herself. Opening her eyes made it worse. She turned to her side. "Chan, can you check the medic's table? I think I have my medicine box there."

Chan did as he was told while Mingyu fetched her some water.

"Look for some paracetamol," Hyesun instructed.

"Got it," Chan said, and in a few seconds, he found the medicine. He gave her one tablet.

"Thank you," Hyesun whispered and smiled. She took the tablet, finishing the bottle of water in the process. She lied back down and pulled the cover up to her chin.

Jeonghan and Minghao had just finished putting away the painting supplies when Seungcheol, Joshua, Wonwoo, and Jihoon arrived.

"Hey, you're back," Jeonghan said, approaching them. "How was fishing?"

"We only caught fourteen today," Seungcheol said. His eyes shifted to the wall art behind Jeonghan. "You guys painted this?"

"We did," Minghao answered proudly. He beckoned for his newly-arrived friends to come closer to the wall for him to see it better. "You see, this is Yeoseodo, and this is us. Then that's the ocean with different kinds of fish."

"Amazing," Seungcheol said, looking at every detail of the painting. "I'm giving it a 110."

Wonwoo nodded, looking impressed as well.

"Look at the color and detail," Jihoon said, looking at the fourteen small figures.

"Jihoon, I think that's us," Joshua said, obviously delighted. "This is great."

"Thank you, guys," Jeonghan said. "But please, keep it down. Hyesun's resting. She's not feeling well."

Jihoon's immediate response was to go inside the house. Joshua followed behind him.  They went to one room and saw Chan and Mingyu sitting beside Hyesun, who was resting under a lot blankets.

Chan and Mingyu waved at their two hyungs at the doorway.

Jihoon and Joshua walked inside and sat beside Hyesun.

"What happened?" Joshua asked in a whisper.

"Bad headache," Mingyu answered to which Chan nodded.

"But I'm guessing it's exhaustion, hunger, and then the paint odor," Chan added.

“She didn’t eat?” Jihoon asked. “Did she—“

“She doesn’t eat squid,” Chan said. “We shared the dried squid for lunch right? She didn’t eat her share. She said she’ll look for an energy bar but I don’t know if she managed to eat one.”

“Wonwoo said he ate the last energy bar for lunch, while we’re all outside,” Jihoon said, remembering Wonwoo’s words.

“Then she didn’t get to eat anything for lunch at all!” Mingyu said in a loud voice as he pieced things together. He earned sharp looks from everyone in the room and immediately lowered his voice.

***

The rockfish and barnacle team returned a little late in the afternoon with their bountiful catch.

“Hyung! Hyung!” Seokmin cheerfully called as he entered the front yard. “Look what we caught! We caught forty-fo—“

Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Wonwoo, and Minghao held fingers to their lips, silencing Seokmin.

“Be quiet!” Seungcheol whisper-shouted.

“Why are you all whispering? Is there something going on?” Seungkwan asked, putting down the pail of barnacles he and Hansol harvested that morning.

Soonyoung, Junhui, and Hansol all waited for Seungcheol to answer.

“Hyesun’s resting inside,” Seungcheol replied. “She’s not feeling well.”

Seungkwan and Hansol looked at each other and back to Seungcheol.

“Does she have medicine?” Junhui asked. “Is she alright?”

“It’s a good thing she brought a medicine box with her,” Jeonghan said. “It’s in her survival kit. Like she knew she’ll get sick.”

“Who could ever tell you’ll get sick? I wanna have that talent,” Soonyoung said.

“Anyway,” Seokmin now softened his voice. “Hyung, we caught forty-four rock fishes.”

Seungcheol looked at the pails Junhui, Seokmin, and Soonyoung were holding. He saw a lot of fishes and ruffled Seokmin’s hair. “Well done. Now set it down and let’s start preparing for dinner.”

Those who went fishing and barnacle harvesting that morning went inside and were given time to rest. The work of preparing and cooking dinner was left to the house team.

Seungkwan and Hansol went to the room where Hyesun was resting and decided to take a nap there as well. Seokmin followed and soon, that room was filled with people who were napping.

Junhui went to the room and peeked inside. “They’re all asleep. Seungkwan, Hansol, and Seokmin. Soonyoung’s in another room but he’s sleeping too.”

“They are?” Jihoon asked. “But I think we need to wake Seungkwan and Seokmin for the kimchi and rice.”

“Alright,” Junhui said and quietly went inside the room to wake Seungkwan and Seokmin. “Seungkwan. Seokmin. They need you outside.”

Seungkwan opened his eyes and scratched his head. “I thought we could rest.”

Seokmin got up too but he had no questions. “You guys need help with the rice? You found the right guy.”

The two went outside and went to do the tasks asked of them.

***

The dinner preparation commenced.

Seokmin had just finished cleaning the rice and left it to cook when he joined Seungcheol and Wonwoo to pick some vegetables from a nearby garden.

“Wonwoo, you look nervous,” Seungcheol said, putting one spring onion in the basket. “Is there something wrong?”

“Don’t worry, hyung, we can pick vegetables in this spot,” Seokmin said, reassuring Wonwoo. “The facilitators said so.”

“It’s nothing,” Wonwoo said, plucking more radishes. He was remembering how the goats chased him and Mingyu.

The three filled their basket and made their way back to the house.

Joshua was removing the heads of the rock fish. Jeonghan helped in washing the barnacles with Chan. Mingyu began to make a sauce for the noodles they planned to have. Wonwoo was washing the vegetables they had just picked. And as for Seungkwan, he had just lifted the lid of the pot of the kimchi when he was told that it was a failure.

“Excuse me?” Seungkwan said, looking at Seungcheol.

“An aunty came by a while ago and when she tasted the kimchi, she said it’s a failure,” Seungcheol said.

“ _Are you kidding me?_ ” Seungkwan said, not believing his ears. His kimchi? The one he called his mother back in Jeju for, was a failure? “I’m going to save this kimchi.”

“Aunty said it’s over,” Jihoon said.

“I can save this,” Seungkwan said, determination in his voice. “Tell me you believe in me.”

“We believe in you,” Joshua and Jeonghan said.

“Thank you!” Seungkwan said and began the procedure to save his kimchi in honor of his mother in Jeju.


	9. Another 95-Liner

Jihoon and Seungcheol went to get the gutted rockfish from Joshua and began to fry them.

“Is it cooked?” Jihoon asked as Seungcheol flipped the fish to its other side.

“A few more seconds I guess,” Seungcheol said. After a few moments, he removed the rockfish from the frying pan and placed it on a plate. He tasted it.

“Good?” Jihoon asked, watching Seungcheol eat.

“Try it,” Seungcheol said, feeding Jihoon a bite of the fish.

Jihoon didn’t expect it but it was the best fish he had in Yeoseodo. “It’s unexpectedly good. The best, actually.”

***

Orange light from the sunset streamed in through the windows, illuminating the room Hyesun was in.

She opened her eyes and her headache was gone. She slowly got up and saw a sleeping Hansol beside her. Junhui was there, too. He was reading a book.

“Hey, you’re up,” Junhui said, closing the book he was holding. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Hyesun answered which made Junhui smile in relief.

“You made everyone worried. Here, eat something,” he said and handed her a plate. “This is fried rockfish. I caught it, Jihoon fried it.”

Hyesun took the plate and began eating the rock fish. “It’s good.” She motioned for Junhui to eat, but the boy declined.

“You need to get your energy up,” Junhui said and instead, began telling her how they caught the rockfish. “We used this one fishing rod, but it had five hooks on it. It was really heavy to pull them up from the water.”

“And I bet most of the catch was yours?” Hyesun assumed, making Junhui laugh.

“Of course! Not only am I the god of endless positivity, I’m the god of luck in fishing, too,” Junhui bragged.

Hansol woke up at that moment. “Noona, how are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling better, Hansol,” Hyesun said and offered her plate of rockfish to Hansol. “Come, have some rockfish.”

Hansol sat closer and opened his mouth. “Hyung. This is the one you caught? It’s really delicious!”

“I’m glad you two liked it,” Junhui said.

“Come on, Junhui,” Hyesun said, offering some rockfish to Junhui again. “Have a bite.”

Junhui gave in this time and took a bite. “It’s amazing. Never thought it would taste like this.”

The three of them finished the fish in no time. Junhui and Hansol went outside to wash the plate, leaving Hyesun in the room.

Hyesun got up and fixed herself, brushing her hair and tidying her clothes. She went outside and for a split second, everybody stopped working. The next thing she knew, they were all cheering.

“Noona!” Seungkwan said, hugging her. “I’m glad you’re all better!”

“I am,” Hyesun said, hugging Seungkwan back. “Did you manage to save your kimchi?”

Seungkwan looked so proud of himself as he took a piece from a small plate and gave her a bite. “Seungcheol-hyung said an aunty came by earlier in the day and said that my kimchi was a failure, but I saved it well. Didn’t I?”

“You did,” she said and patted Seungkwan’s head.

Chan approached her and pulled her to where Mingyu was mixing some noodles. “Noona! Look at the spicy noodles Mingyu-hyung’s making! They’re looking good, aren’t they?”

“They are, Chan,” Hyesun said. “And Chan?”

“Yeah, noona?” he said.

“Thanks for helping me,” she said, pinching Chan’s cheeks.

“Oh? Our princess is awake,” Jeonghan said and walked over to Hyesun. “You should never skip your meals, young lady. You should eat well. Do you understand?”

Hyesun was surprised at how kind Jeonghan was becoming towards her. Her first impression of him was someone who was always so aloof and cold, but it turned out that Jeonghan was an angel, once she got to know him. “Yes, mom.”

“Ah!” Jeonghan said, hugging Hyesun. “It’s so nice to finally have a daughter after having eleven sons, right, Seungcheol?”

“Right you are, Jeonghan,” Seungcheol said, playing along.

She walked over to where Jihoon was. “That rockfish was good.”

Jihoon looked up at her and smiled. “Really? I’m glad you liked it. Junhui said you finished all of it yourself.”

“I did not!” Hyesun said, not believing her ears. “I shared it with Junhui and Hansol.”

“Noona,” Seokmin called. “Come over here. Try the fish stew.” He held a spoon in front of Hyesun.

“It’s great,” Hyesun said, giving Seokmin a thumbs-up. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help out with dinner.”

“It’s fine,” Seokmin said, stirring the pot of fish stew. “We’re all just happy that you’re better now.”

She walked around and looked at what everyone was doing.

“Hyesun, go back inside,” Joshua said. “It’s getting cold.”

Hyesun, Junhui, Soonyoung, and Hansol set the tables inside the rooms and the rest finished the dinner preparations. Bowls and utensils were brought inside first followed by the food.

Their dinner commenced and, as usual, everyone enjoyed their food. The fish stew tasted great while the spicy noodles with barnacles was unexpectedly delicious.

Following Jeonghan’s advice, Hyesun ate well. When she finished her bowl of fish stew, she moved to her rice. When she finished her bowl of rice, she moved to her spicy noodles. When she finished her bowl of noodles, she was given two more bowls.

Jihoon gave her another bowl of fish stew at the same moment when Joshua gave her another bowl of rice.

Jihoon and Joshua looked at each other.

The tension was only broken when Junhui gave her a bowl of noodles.

“Eat up,” Junhui said and patted her head.

***

Ever since Hyesun had woken up, she had been exempted from doing any work.  She picked up a plate once and tried to wash it, but Hansol stopped her. The most she had done was to stack the plates together and bring them to the cleaning team. Everyone including Jihoon and then Joshua told her that she should rest. She appreciated their concern, but she was already well and she thought the boys babied her too much.

That's why she was so grateful for the head fisherman to be visiting them again that night, asking once more for volunteers.

"We need six people tomorrow to work on the abalones and three people for fishing bushiri," the fisherman said. "The team working on the abalones will be sent to Cheongsando, an island not too far from here, and will have to stay there overnight."

The fourteen looked at one another and then turned back to the fisherman.

"We'll talk it over first and we'll just send our companions tomorrow, sir," Seungcheol said and started walking him to the door.

"Oh, and before I forget," the fisherman said, turning around. "The facilitators said that you should all proceed to the village hall. That's all. Good night."

The rest got up and prepared themselves, dressing warmly as they wondered what was awaiting them in the village hall. They went outside and walked to the village hall, talking nervously among one another.

"What would they have us do this time?" Jeonghan asked, putting a hand on Seokmin's shoulder.

"Maybe we're gonna be playing something," Seokmin said. "I hope there are prizes."

"I don't care what they make us do as long as we get prizes," Mingyu said.

The fourteen entered the village hall and proceeded to the largest function room at the ground floor as told by the facilitators at the entrance of the building.

The doors of the function room opened and all they saw was darkness.

"Uhh, are we sure this is the right place?" Chan said, holding Hyesun's sleeve, stepping closer to her.

"They said function room," Hyesun said, looking inside the dark room. "This is it."

"Let's get inside, kids," Seungcheol said, leading the way inside the room.

The rest followed behind Seungcheol and soon, all of them were in the room.

The doors closed behind them with a thud, enveloping all fourteen in total darkness.

"What the?!" Wonwoo said.

"I can't see anything," Jeonghan said. "Seungcheol, stop grabbing my coat."

"I'm _not_ grabbing your coat," Seungcheol said defensively.

"I don't like this," Hansol said nervously. "I don't like dark places."

Far ahead of them, they saw a candle being lit.

" _Whoa, whoa, whoa_ ," Junhui said, taking a step back, bumping into Minghao. "What's the candle for? Bad things happen when you bring out candles in these moments."

"Is this some cult activity or something?" Seungkwan asked in a loud voice.

" _Aigoo_. You two watch _way_ too many movies," Jihoon said, shaking his head.

"Look! Another candle!" Joshua said.

Another candle was lit, followed by another, and another. The candles were on the floor, forming a circle.

"A circle of candles," Minghao said, amazed at the ambience created by the candles in the middle of the room.

"Much wow, very aesthetic," Hansol said, who seemed to be in a better mood now that there was some light he could see.

"Darkness, check," Seungkwan said. "Candles, check. What's next?"

"Definitely gonna be needing human sacrifice," Junhui said, playing along.

The fourteen looked around them and wondered what was happening when suddenly the door opened and a facilitator walked in and turned on the switches.

"Power's back," one facilitator said to the others who lit the candles.

The kids' eyes adjusted to the brightness and saw at the far end of the room a table that held what looked like goodies. There were chocolates, chips, fruits, and canned drinks.

"There are prizes!" Soonyoung cried, pointing to the two bags. He dashed forward first, with the others trailing behind him in excitement.

"Cola!" Jihoon said excitedly. "Guys, there's cola!"

"There's cola?" Mingyu said, running his hands through his hair like he had just received the best news in his life. "THERE. IS. COLA."

"Seungkwan! There's tangerines!" Hansol pointed to the second bag which was filled with tangerines and chestnuts.

Seungkwan bent to his knees and looked like he began worshipping the second goody bag. "I can hear them. They're calling to me. And I will follow the sound."

They began crowding around the goody bags and only sat down when the facilitators told them to. They sat in a semi-circle on the floor, but their eyes were on the prizes as they waited for instructions from the facilitators.

"Good evening, everyone," one facilitator greeted. "Sorry about the candles earlier. The power just came back. Don't worry, we're not doing any summoning here. We'll just be enjoying ourselves tonight."

"Enjoying ourselves?" Jeonghan said in a calm but saracstic tone. "We've been laboring for days."

"Consider this activity as a way to know each other better," the facilitator said, and brought out a small box. "Inside are the questions you all wrote during the first night. Things you are curious about one another."

"Ahh, this is gonna be good," Seokmin said, leaning back.

"Those prizes over there are happy kits," the facilitator explained. "Once this activity is over, you will all vote on who gets to win the happy kit. I promise you this will be fun." She placed the box on the floor and left the emceeing to whoever wanted to.

"I won't be the emcee this time," Seungkwan announced. "I already did yesterday. So who wants to?"

"I'll do it," Jeonghan volunteered and stood up. "Good evening, this is Yoon Jeonghan and I'd like to call on my partner for tonight, Kwon Soonyoung!"

Soonyoung looked surprised but happy about being Jeonghan's co-emcee. He stood beside Jeonghan and began the program. "Yes, Jeonghan-hyung, it's nice to see you again. Good evening, I'm Kwon Soonyoung and you're watching..." He looked at Jeonghan, waiting for the older one to come up with a made-up program name.

"You're watching Yeoseodo Castaways!" Jeonghan said without missing a beat.

"Let's start with our maknae, Lee Chan!"

Chan went to the front and picked a piece of folded paper from the box.

"Drumroll please!" Soonyoung said to everyone.

"Okay, what does this say," Chan said, unfolding the piece of paper. His eyebrows furrowed and he shook his heas. "Ahh, seriously, hyung.  Even here, you can't ask anything else?"

"Why? What does it say?" Soonyoung asked.

Chan showed his friends the paper. On it were the words, _'Nugu aegi?_ ' which translates to _whose baby are you_?

"Well, answer the question then," Wonwoo said. "Whose baby are you?"

Chan rolled his eyes and sighed. He turned to Jeonghan. "Jeonghan-hyung's. I swear I can hear his voice inside my head."

"Don't worry, Chan, I'll stop when you're thirty," Jeonghan said.

Chan went back to his seat with a pout.

"So, Chan, who will go next?" Soonyoung asked.

"Me, me, me!" Seokmin raised his hand.

"Alright, Seokmin-hyung," Chan answered.

Seokmin sat down at the middle and picked a paper. "'Who is the oldest in the group?' This isn't even challenging!"

"Lee Seokmin, who's the oldest in the group?" Jeonghan asked.

"Of course," Seokmin said and stood up. "Choi Seungcheol!" He pointed dramatically to Seungcheol and started dancing.

Chan, Hansol, and Seungkwan began to laugh.

"That is incorrect," one facilitator said, looking up from her tablet.

Seokmin stopped dancing and stared at the facilitator and then he turned to Seungcheol. "Wait, so you're not the oldest, hyung?"

"I thought I was...until now," Seungcheol said, clueless.

"So that means..." Seokmin trailed off. He turned to Hyesun and so did everyone else.

"Is it so hard to believe?" Hyesun asked.

"What's your year, noona?" Seokmin asked.

"95," Hyesun replied.

"What month?" Soonyoung added to the inquiry.

"June," she answered.

"What day?" Wonwoo joined in asking.

"The ninth," Hyesun answered, satisfying the boys' inquiries.

"What? After all those questions, you're not gonna ask what her sun and moon signs are?" Seungkwan sarcastically said.

"Go on, ask her ascendant sign, too, while you're at it," Chan jumped in, playing along with Seungkwan.


	10. Meet Me At Midnight

"Well, now we know," Seungcheol said and turned to everyone. "Kids! You will all listen to her. From now on. Is that clear?"

"Yes, hyung," the rest answered Seungcheol.

Seungkwan, Jihoon, and Junhui went next, all answering or proving their point by either a simple answer or holding a mini contest on who could sing the highest note or dance the best.

"She'll go next," Junhui said, pointing to Hyesun.

Hyesun sat in the middle and picked one piece. She unfolded the paper and began to read what was written. Her eyebrows furrowed and looked at Seungcheol.

"What's wrong, noona?" Soonyoung asked. "What does it say?"

"'I will personally accept a dare from Choi Seungcheol'," Hyesun read. "Hey, this isn't even a question."

"Did you say dare?" Jeonghan said, eyes sparkling with interest. "Is it time for dares again?"

Hyesun knew that Jeonghan loved these things. Out of all papers, why did she have to pick that one?

"Okay. Guilty," Seungcheol said, raising his hand. "I didn't think it would be included there. But let's proceed, shall we? Carry on with the dare. You alright with that?"

Hyesun was up for the challenge. "Sure." She already knew Seungcheol would dare her to something she knew she won't like.

"Song Hyesun," Seungcheol began. "I dare you to kiss the cheek of the person you like in this room."

Hyesun stared at Seungcheol. _Are you serious?_

All the rest looked at one another.

" _Yah, yah, yah_. What is this, huh? What kind of show do you think this is?" Chan said.

"Hyung, this requires parental guidance!" Seungkwan said.

Hyesun looked back at Seungcheol. "I'll do it." _But I'll do it on my own way_ , she thought and devised a plan to get back at Seungcheol.

She made them takeout their handkerchiefs or any spare cloth to use as a blindfold. She went to each of them and tied the blindfold herself.

"Blindfolds? Is there some fifty shades stuff that I need to know?" Junhui blurted, earning a few 'eeew', 'shut up, Jun', or 'yuck' from everyone else. "I'm really curious why we need the blindfolds though."

"My rules, Junhui," Hyesun said, standing up.

She finished tying the blindfolds for Seungcheol, Joshua, Junhui, Wonwoo, Jihoon, Mingyu, Seokmin, Minghao, and Hansol.

She gathered the four people left without blindfolds: Chan, Seungkwan, Jeonghan, and Soonyoung. And with little to no words as much as possible, Hyesun assigned each boy the corresponding person they will kiss on the cheek, to make them think that he's the one Hyesun kissed.

Chan, Seungkwan, Jeonghan, and Soonyoung liked her plan and all four assumed their positions, tiptoeing to prevent any sound.

 _Three, two, one_ , Hyesun counted down with her fingers. She gave the go signal and her cheek-kissing prank commenced.

Chan kissed Junhui.

Seungkwan kissed Mingyu.

Jeonghan kissed Seungcheol.

Soonyoung kissed Seokmin.

Hyesun breathed in and gathered her courage. Jihoon was the first person who came to her mind when she heard of Seungcheol's dare. _But why Jihoon, and not anybody else?_ She didn't know. Her mind just said so.

Chan, Seungkwan, Jeonghan, and Soonyoung would still know who she'd kiss but she knew they'd keep it a secret.

 _He's blindfolded, he won't see_ , Hyesun told herself.

And so she leaned in and kissed Jihoon on the cheek. She stepped back and went back to her position in the middle.

"Is it over?" Seungkwan said, pretending that he had just removed his blindfold.

"Yeah, it's over," Hyesun said, trying her best to hide her smile. "You may remove the blindfolds now."

The boys removed their blindfolds and looked at one another. Hyesun bit her tongue to keep herself from laughing as she watched the boys talk to each other in hushed tones.

"Okay. Who got kissed?" Soonyoung acted in a demanding way.

At that moment, Junhui, Mingyu, Seungcheol, Seokmin, and Jihoon all raised their hands. Seungkwan, for the fun of it, also raised his hand, further confusing everyone.

"What in the world?" Seungkwan said. This kid could really act. "Are you telling me you all got kissed?"

"Well I felt someone kiss my cheek," Junhui said. He turned to Hyesun. "You're saying you kissed all of us?"

"That's not possible," Seokmin said.

"It's impossible, Seokmin," Mingyu said. "Noona couldn't have kissed us all at the same time."

Hyesun's gaze met with Jihoon's and he was touching his cheek. He immediately dropped his gaze.

"That's right!" Seungcheol said. "Unless..."

"Unless..." Mingyu and Junhui repeated, now looking nervous.

Hyesun counted down to three and watched as Seungcheol, Mingyu, Junhui, and Seokmin piece together what happened. Chaos followed.

Hyesun's accomplices had fun the most, and so did the rest of the boys. Jihoon was laughing along too but Hyesun had a feeling that he knew.

"I can tell something's weird!" Seokmin said. "I don't think it was Hyesun-noona who kissed me. The perfume smelled like a boy's! One of you kissed me!"

"How could a boy kiss you when all of you were blindfolded?" Hyesun defended.

"Wow," Jeonghan said. "Hyesun must like all six of you."

"You're messing with us, Hyesun," Seungcheol said. "Did you even do the dare?"

"I did," Hyesun said innocently.

Seungcheol turned to the facilitators who were having a good time as well. "Did she do the dare?"

The facilitators nodded.

"Guys, guys, settle down," Hyesun said, until they were all quiet. "Yes, I kissed one of you. But I'm not saying who."

***

The questions ran out and soon, the happy kits were awarded to Seungkwan and Soonyoung. Soonyoung received a bag with two cans of cola, boxes of Ferrero, and two bags of chips. Seungkwan's bag held tangerines and chestnuts.

The fourteen were happy to receive gifts and they couldn't wait to get home to share the food with one another.

As they were making their way out of the village hall, Seungcheol stopped in his tracks.

"What the--?" Seungcheol said.

"What's wrong?" Jeonghan asked, walking to Seungcheol.

"It's here!" Seungcheol said, wrapping his arms around something.

Everyone huddled around Seungcheol and saw that he was hugging his suitcase.

"If Seungcheol got his suitcase, then that means..." Hyesun said, trailing off. She walked ahead and rounded a corner.

Standing in a straight line were all of their suitcases.

"Guys! Our bags are here!" Hyesun said, and ran to her suitcase.

Everyone had a dramatic reunion with their belongings. They had never been so happy to see their things again. The things they had been deprived of.

"I can finally change my clothes!" Mingyu cried.

"My lint remover!" Seungkwan screamed.

"My humidifier!" Seokmin exclaimed.

"It's good to see you again, children," a familiar voice said.

The fourteen looked to see who spoke and they found Professor Kang standing a few feet away from the suitcases.

"Professor Kang," Hyesun said, standing up. "When did you--"

But the class beadle, Chan, went on a rampage. "Professor Kang! Who told you you can be in this island?"

"What do you mean, Chan?" Professor Kang said, amused. "I've been in this island for three days."

"So you've been here all along?" Seungkwan said.

"Why didn't we see you?" Minghao asked.

"I was hiding, of course," Professor Kang answered.

"You're not allowed here, professor," Seokmin said. "We've been doing well without you."

"It's good to see you, too, Seokmin."

***

"Noona, can I get some chocolate now?" Chan asked, opening one eye.

"Chan, you can eat the chocolate when I'm done," Hyesun said, applying some moisturizer on Chan's face.

"Okay," Chan said obediently, silently resting his head on Hyesun's lap as she finished the skin care routine on him.

Meanwhile, Seungkwan and Junhui were combing Hyesun's hair that was still damp from washing. Hyesun didn’t tell them to, Seungkwan just did, and Junhui joined him.

"No, Junhui-hyung, comb it this way," Seungkwan said, showing Junhui how to properly comb.

"Got it," Junhui said and followed Seungkwan.

The fourteen, now reunited with their belongings and with their happy kits, were contented.

"All done," Hyesun said, tapping Chan's forehead playfully. "You can have some chocolate now."

Chan got up and looked at himself in the mirror. "I should start investing in those skin care products soon."

"Ahhh," Hansol said, lying on the floor across Chan. "Feels so good to be in new clothes."

The cans of cola were passed around, the chocolates and chips were opened as well as the tangerines and chestnuts. This was the perfect night to eat the treats.

"So, who will be going to Cheongsando for the abalones tomorrow?" Seungcheol said while peeling a tangerine.

"I want to go!" Jeonghan said, popping a piece of chocolate in his mouth. "I love abalones."

"I want to go, too," Hyesun said, raising her hand.

Chan, Joshua, Minghao, and Wonwoo also raised their hands.

"Okay," Seungcheol said, counting the six members. "So we have Hyesun, Jeonghan, Joshua, Wonwoo, Minghao, and Chan. For the bushiri fishing team? Who wants to go?"

Mingyu and Jihoon raised their hands. Nobody else did. All the rest had just finished their turn in working for the village fisherman so Seungcheol joined Mingyu and Jihoon, completing the team of three.

"Meeting adjourned," Seungcheol said, getting up. "Cheongsando Team, prepare your things and get some rest soon. We need to be early tomorrow."

***

It was midnight but Jihoon's heart was still pounding in his chest, not letting him sleep.

He closed his eyes but his mind kept replaying what happened back at the village hall: a faint scent of perfume that smelled like fresh flowers, a few strands of hair brushing his neck, and a soft pair of warm lips that touched his cheek.

Despite his blindfold, Jihoon knew that it was her. His kiss on the cheek was real. Despite Seokmin, Junhui, Mingyu, Seungcheol, and Seungkwan admitting that they'd been kissed too, Jihoon knew that his kiss was from her. He just knew. He saw how she'd look away immediately whenever their eyes met but that only fueled more questions. Did that mean that she liked him too?

And now, she was going to Cheongsando with Joshua. Jihoon didn't know what to make of that.

Jihoon got up and walked to the kitchen. As he finished his second glass of water, the door of one room opened and out walked Hyesun, who was rubbing her eyes.

"Can't sleep?" Jihoon asked, setting down his glass.

"No," Hyesun said, reaching for her cup at the counter. "Just wanted something to drink."

Jihoon remembered something. He opened the fridge to check if it was still there. Relief washed over him to see the yogurt bottle still sitting snuggly inside. He took it out and handed it to Hyesun. "How about this one?"

Hyesun looked at the yogurt bottle and then back to Jihoon. She took the bottle in her hands. "Where did you get this? I thought we returned it."

"It's among the items in yesterday's game, but it's the only one there so you might not have seen it," he said.

"But you...saved it for me?" Hyesun said.

Jihoon nodded.

Hyesun stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Jihoon. "Thank you."

Jihoon swore that his heart almost leapt out of his chest. He stood there, frozen for a moment, but then he gathered his courage and returned the hug. He embraced her just as tight as she held him.

She pulled away but stood close enough to hold onto him. "It's very kind of you." She opened the drink and offered it to him first. "Here, try it."

"No, it's all yours," Jihoon said, shaking his head.

"Are you sure? Cause I can finish this in one go," Hyesun said.

"By all means," Jihoon said.

"Sharing is caring is Jihoon," she said. "Come on, drink some."

Jihoon couldn't say no anymore and so he took a sip of the strawberry yogurt drink.

"Good, right?" Hyesun said.

Soon, Hyesun finished the drink.

She and Jihoon stood at the kitchen, resting against the counter.

Jihoon didn't want this moment to end too soon so he worked up the courage to talk more. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, as you can see," Hyesun said, smiling.

Jihoon smiled too. "Take care in Cheongsando, okay?"

"I will," Hyesun said. "And you be careful in catching bushiri, too, alright?"

"I promise," Jihoon said.

"We should rest now. Both of us will be up early tomorrow," Hyesun said.

"Yeah, we should," Jihoon agreed and began to walk back to the rooms with her.

As Jihoon was about to reach for the door knob, the door opened, revealing a sleepy Seungkwan who stared back at a surprised Hyesun and Jihoon.

Before Hyesun or Jihoon could say anything, Seungkwan shut the door on them.

 


	11. A Hard Catch

Hong Joshua had always been a morning person. Aside from Junhui, he had no problem waking up early.

After last night's meeting on who would be going to Cheongsando, he felt excited. Hyesun would be going with them. He had a few brief moments of interaction with her for the past couple of days.

Joshua had always been selfless, but this time, although he would never admit it to himself, he'd prefer it if he could spend time with Hyesun without having Jihoon around. He didn't have any bad blood with Jihoon, but ever since Seungkwan brought it up on their first day in Yeoseodo, Joshua would then find himself watching Jihoon's gestures for Hyesun.

Maybe it's just natural to feel this way if you see someone being close to the girl you liked.

Joshua put these thoughts aside and went out of the room to wake the other members going to Cheongsando.

He found Hyesun already awake, preparing her things in the living room.

A smile automatically formed on Joshua's lips. "Hey, you're up."

Hyesun looked up at him and returned the smile. "Yeah, I'm just finishing this. I was just about to wake the others."

Joshua woke Wonwoo and Jeonghan, while Hyesun went to get Minghao and Chan.

"Where's Minghao?" Wonwoo asked through a yawn.

Joshua went to the room where Hyesun went and found her and Seungcheol sitting beside Minghao who was still in bed.

Hyesun went to the medic's table and went back after a few moments. "We don't have anything for fever."

Seungcheol nodded and turned back to Minghao. "You just rest for today," Seungcheol said. "I promise. We'll get you some medicine."

"Thank you, hyung, noona," Minghao said softly.

"Is everything alright?" Joshua asked, sitting down beside Seungcheol.

"He's not feeling well," Seungcheol replied.

Hyesun pulled the blanket up to Minghao's chin. "We need to switch him with someone else."

"Seungkwan can go," Joshua suggested. Hyesun and Seungcheol didn't protest.

The three of them left the room for Minghao to rest and went to get Seungkwan.

Seungkwan was still in deep slumber when they roused him.

"Seungkwan, Seungkwan," Hyesun said, gently shaking his shoulder.

Seungkwan groaned and turned, his back facing his hyungs and noona.

"Wake up, Seungkwan," Hyesun said. She ruffled Seungkwan's hair. "Seungkwan, come on."

"Boo Seungkwan," Seungcheol spoke this time. His voice was soft, but the tone was firm and authoritative.

Seungkwan faced them and opened his eyes. Judging by the look on his face, a whine was set to come out. "What do I have to do now?"

"Minghao is sick," Joshua said. "You'll be switching with him."

Seungkwan lazily stretched and propped himself on his elbows. "Do I have to? Can't someone else go?"

"Come on, Seungkwan," Hyesun said, cradling Seungkwan. "Don't you want to come with me to Cheongsando?"

Seungkwan now sat up. Whine he did, but he was obeying his hyungs and noona now. "Aigoo. If it weren't for you, noona."

Joshua, Hyesun, Seungkwan, and Seungcheol left the room and met with the ones going to Cheongsando as well as the ones fishing for bushiri that day.

As soon as Seungkwan had finished preparing his things, he joined his team and made their way to the docks.

The ship leaving for Cheongsando approached and the team assigned to the abalones walked to the entrance of the ship. They bid Mingyu, Seungcheol, and Jihoon goodbye.

"Be careful in Cheongsando," Seungcheol said as he let go of Jeonghan.

"Of course," Jeonghan said. "We'll be fine."

Jihoon and Hyesun hugged.

"See you tomorrow," Jihoon told her.

"See you," Hyesun said, smiling back at Jihoon.

Joshua took particular notice of this, and he also saw how Mingyu took a particular interest in observing Jihoon and Hyesun.

Joshua bid Jihoon goodbye and Joshua wasn't sure if it was just the usual quiet Jihoon, but the younger boy didn't say much to him any more than a reminder to take care. But Joshua put that aside and joined Jeonghan, Dino, Seungkwan, Wonwoo, and Hyesun.

"Take care of Minghao," Hyesun told Seungcheol.

Seungcheol nodded. "Don't worry. I'll talk to the facilitators about it."

Hyesun smiled. She patted Seungcheol's arm and joined her group as they boarded the ship.

Seungcheol, Jihoon, and Mingyu waved back at them from the docks.

The team going to Cheongsando stood by one area at the deck.

"We'll miss you!" Jeonghan shouted.

"Don't forget to light the fire when you cook!" Seungkwan reminded.

***

Seungcheol dropped his hands that were waving at the ship when they were far enough. " _Yah._ They look so happy."

"What's the matter, hyung?" Mingyu asked.

"Is there something wrong about them being happy?" Jihoon joined.

Seungcheol shook his head and laughed. "I don't know. I just feel like they're—never mind. This island's making me doubtful."

"You feel like they're what?" Jihoon pressed.

"Going back to Seoul," Seungcheol admitted.

***

The six on their way to Cheongsando were on full alert for any clues from the facilitators with them.

"By any chance," Seungkwan began to say. "Is this boat going back to Seoul?"

The question piqued the interest of Seungkwan's companions, making them turn to the facilitators for any hint.

"This boat is headed to Cheongsando," one of the facilitators answered, trying not to smile. "Is this how much you don't trust us?"

"With what's been happening for the past couple of days, yes," Jeonghan answered blatantly.

The facilitators left them for a while, giving them free time on the ship while en route to Cheongsando.

"Let's play Rock Paper Scissors," Seungkwan said. "Loser stays on deck for five minutes."

Hyesun was the first to be safe. Then Jeonghan won. Chan won the next, followed by Wonwoo, then Seungkan, leaving Joshua to stay in the cold outdoors for five minutes.

The five went downstairs to the cabin, while Joshua started his freezing five-minute penalty.

"Do you think Joshua will be fine? It's freezing out there," Hyesun said.

"He'll be fine," Jeonghan said. "He's probably staring into the horizon like some idol in a music video."

The five minutes passed and as soon as Joshua went indoors, he sneezed.

"Hyung has a cold," Chan said.

"Here. Have some tissues," Hyesun said, giving Joshua a small pack of tissues.

"Thanks," Joshua said, sitting down beside Hyesun.

"What do you think Cheongsando will be like?" Wonwoo asked.

"I think it's a pretty island, but we'll suffer," Jeonghan said.

"Like we always do," Seungkwan jumped in. "But we should be used to it now. We've survived for days fishing for our own food so I think we'll be alright when we get there."

***

The captain of the ship went through the door, calling the attention of the six kids. "Get ready, we're arriving in Cheongsando soon."

"So we're really going to Cheongsando, then," Wonwoo said, reassuring himself.

Jeonghan laughed. "I love how much we don't trust them anymore."

Seungkwan and Chan did their best to hide their grins from the facilitators while Hyesun and Joshua shook their heads.

After a couple of minutes, the ship docked and the six alighted, taking in the view of Cheongsando before them.

They were suprised to see how much of a bustling town Cheongsando was compared to Yeoseodo. The former had shops and supermarkets lining the streets, and most of all, there were people! Yeoseodo had people, too, but not as much as this one. Simply observing the locals go about their daily routine was enough to enliven the six kids.

The six stood before a large map of Cheongsando and observed what the place had.

"Good morning. everyone!" one of the facilitators greeted. "For today, we will be giving you free time to do whatever you want."

The six stood in shock, staring at the facilitator.

"Excuse me, but did you just say..." Seungkwan began but trailed off, still processing what they had been told.

"We have free time?" Chan finished, still not believing too.

The facilitator nodded. "In your free time, you can do whatever you want."

"Whatever we want?" Seungkwan echoed.

The facilitator nodded again. "Yes, and you can eat whatever you want, too."

"Eat whatever we want!" Wonwoo repeated this time.

They celebrated and jumped around excitedly at this newfound freedom given to them.

"If you see something you want to eat, then by all means, go eat it," the facilitator said.

Seungkwan and Chan began to dance merrily.

"But," the facilitator said, making Seungkwan and Chan stop, and the rest of them stare.

"Whatever amount of money you use, you must pay it back."

A silence settled on the six, but that only lasted for a few seconds when Jeonghan decided to bring back their party mood.

"Then let's just eat what we want now and work for it later!" Jeonghan announced. "We're gonna be suffering anyway." The last part of what he said, he said it under his breath, making Hyesun and Joshua the only ones who heard him.

"Alright!" Seungkwan said, bursting with energy. "Let's eat everything we want!"

"Play hard, and work hard later!" Hyesun said, joining Seungkwan in his rally.

"If we die, at least we die with full stomachs!" Wonwoo added.

"But, hyung, none of us will be dying, though," Chan said, his eyebrows were knit in confusion and uneasiness at Wonwoo's statement.

"We'll leave you for now," the facilitator said, handing them a black purse. "Just don't forget to pay for how much you spend." With their final reminder, the facilitator walked away, leaving the six to their own devices.

***

"Did we catch something this time?" Seungcheol asked as he, Jihoon, and Mingyu pulled up a fishing net.

They opened the net and saw that there was not one fish in there. Mingyu whined and pouted while Seungcheol sighed. Jihoon bent down and lifted the net. His eyes sparkled when he saw the other things they caught.

"Look! We got conches!" Jihoon said, taking out the conches from the net.

Seungcheol and Mingyu bent down beside Jihoon to take a closer look at the conches.

"This isn't so bad," Seungcheol said.

"Yeah, not bad after all," Mingyu agreed.

The fisherman assisting the three went to them and handed them something to eat. "Here, have some snacks first. Been a hard catch if you ask me."

"Yes, it's a hard one, but thank you for these," Seungcheol said, speaking on behalf of his friends. He distributed the little snack packs to Jihoon and Mingyu.

"Boiled egg and yogurt!" Mingyu said excitedly as he opened the snack pack.

Jihoon remembered Hyesun when he saw the yogurt and smiled.

Seungcheol took a sip of his yogurt. "We have some yogurt back at Yeoseodo, right? We won a bottle."

Jihoon knew where this conversation was going.

Mingyu swallowed the boiled egg and turned to Seungcheol. "You're right, hyung! We had one, but Jihoon-hyung won't let me have it."

"Of course, he won't let you have it," Seungcheol said. "It's reserved for someone."

Mingyu's eyebrows were knit in momentary confusion. "Who?"

"Who else?" Seungcheol raised his eyebrows at Mingyu. He wondered why the younger boy didn't get it quickly.

Then realization set in Mingyu, his eyes said that he finally knew.

Jihoon made a mental note to never underestimate Seungcheol's observation skills. He tried to be discreet about it. Maybe Seungcheol was just good, or Jihoon had been very obvious.

"What? You think I don't notice these things?" Seungcheol told Jihoon, raising an eyebrow.

"Listen, it's not like—" Jihoon tried to say but was cut off by Seungcheol.

"Mingyu," Seungcheol said, tapping Mingyu's arm. "We all know Jihoon doesn't like hugs and is not particularly warm towards any of us—"

"Wow, you know I'm here with you, right?" Jihoon said.

Seungcheol continued. "But if it's with Hyesun, it's like he's a whole different person. He becomes kind and he lets her hug him!"

Mingyu laughed and began to dance, poking Jihoon's side in the process.

"When we came back after the treasure hunt, Hyesun hugged you and you didn't look uncomfortable," Seungcheol said. "How did that happen, Jihoon?"

"Come on, hyung," Mingyu said, bumping his shoulder to Jihoon's. "Spill the beans!"

“Alright, alright," Jihoon said. He held up his hands to make Seungcheol and Mingyu listen to him once and for all. "You caught me."

Seungcheol and Mingyu danced triumphantly.

"I'm so happy, Lee Jihoon!" Seungcheol said, hugging Jihoon. "But! There's one more thing I need to get out of my chest."

"What is it this time?" Jihoon asked.

"When we were playing truth or dare," Seungcheol began. "Remember, I dared Joshua to dance with the person he likes, right? I know I'm not seeing things, but he really was about to approach Hyesun but you looked like you didn't like it."

Jihoon felt himself blushing. He looked down and focused on his empty yogurt bottle. "Gosh, hyung. You never really miss a thing, huh?"

Seungcheol looked so proud of himself while Mingyu looked so excited.

"I approve! I approve! Kim Mingyu approves!" Mingyu announced, clapping his hands. "Ahh! I feel butterflies all over me!"

Jihoon shook his head. _No use denying anything now,_ he thought.

"But hyung, she's in Cheongsando now with Joshua-hyung," Mingyu asked. He held his empty yogurt bottle in front of Jihoon like a mic. "How do you feel about that?"

Jihoon finished his snack. "Tell me, why did this suddenly turn into an interview?"


	12. Spend Hard, Work Harder

“Noona! Noona!” Chan called, walking to Hyesun’s side, showing a box of banana chocolate pretzel sticks. “I really like this snack.”

“That looks good, Chan,” Hyesun said, looking at what the younger boy was holding. “But you should ask Wonwoo first, okay?”

The team in Cheongsando first went to a supermarket, where they could finally put the advanced credit system to use.

The six were simply excited to be in a supermarket after spending three days in the quiet and calm Yeoseodo. They missed the hustle and bustle of a town proper that’s why they’re enjoying grocery shopping in Cheongsando.

“Wonwoo, can we buy just one of these?” Joshua pouted to Wonwoo, holding chocolate cookies.

“Hyung, sorry. But we got the choco pie already,” Wonwoo apologized as he filtered their items. “I’m feeling nervous right now, to be honest. I don’t feel so good about this advanced credit system.”

Seungkwan was ran to Wonwoo, carrying four different bags of chips in his arms. “Pick one, Wonwoo-hyung. There’s sour cream, nacho cheese, wasabi, and ketchup flavor.”

Chan and Joshua eyed the chips Seungkwan was carrying and began to persuade Wonwoo to get another bag of chips.

“Come on, hyung,” Seungkwan said in a singsong voice. “This is really good. I couldn’t even find the ketchup flavor in Seoul.”

Wonwoo looked like he was about to be swayed but he shook his head. “We can’t, Seungkwan. We already have the choco pie and fish chips. This is enough.”

Hyesun walked along the aisle of generic medicines and vitamins and took one for common cold. Joshua was still sniffing and his eyes were a bit watery. She walked back to Wonwoo and placed the medicine box in the basket Wonwoo was holding. “I hope you don’t mind me buying this?”

“Not a problem at all,” Wonwoo said. He turned to their friends and called them. “Guys, come on. Time to pay.”

Once they paid, they went back to the van where Jeonghan was waiting for them.

“Did you buy good stuff?” Jeonghan asked as his five friends got inside the van.

“We got choco pie and fish chips, hyung,” Chan replied.

“How are our expenses?” Jeonghan inquired. “Are we swimming in debt already?”

“Not that much,” Hyesun said. “Wonwoo filtered the items real good.”

Jeonghan took out the chips first, leaving the choco pie in the bag. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s eat these now.” His remark earned applause from his companions.

Wonwoo was unexpectedly cheerful and lively, dancing at the sight of snacks.

“Look at Wonwoo-hyung,” Seungkwan said, pointing to Wonwoo. “It’s like he’s changed ever since coming to Cheongsando.”

***

“So up there, we can really see as far as Jeju?” Seungkwan asked as the six of them trudged along the uphill path that led to the Beombawi Observatory, a famous spot in Cheongsando.

“Yep,” Hyesun confirmed, checking the small brochure she got back at the visitor booth at the entrance of the path they were on. She checked on Joshua, who was still sniffing and had slightly watery eyes. “You alright, Joshua?”

Joshua nodded and gave her a smile. “I’m fine, Hyesun. Thanks.”

The six of them took their time walking up to the observatory, taking in the great views of the sea and landscape along the way.

“Right now feels like the time before we arrived in Yeoseodo,” Chan said.

“Back when everything was still good, but you’re already dreading what will happen later?” Wonwoo finished.

“Yeah, feels exactly like that,” Chan replied and sighed.

“Calm down, Chan,” Seungkwan said, placing an arm around Chan. “Let’s just enjoy the moment. Look, we’re almost at the observatory.”

The Beombawi Observatory loomed ahead, and soon, they reached it.

The crystal blue ocean stretched out before them, going as far as their eyes could see.

The sun was shining, but the wind blew a cold gentle breeze. Everything was perfect.

“Ah! I’ve never seen anything like this before!” Seungkwan said, he looked like he was about to cry.

“It’s beautiful,” Hyesun said, taking in the magnificent scene before her. She looked at Joshua over her shoulder and smiled.

“Yeah, it is,” Joshua agreed, but his eyes weren’t on the view before him, but on the girl beside him.

Jeonghan lightly bumped Joshua with his elbow and stood beside the boy. “Oh? Is that Jeju over there?”

“I see it too, hyung!” Chan said, squinting his eyes to focus on the hazy outline of an island so far on the horizon.

“Jeju-do?” Seungkwan said, his eyes widening. “Eomma! Can you hear me? Eommaaaaaaaaaa!”

“ _Seungkwan? Is that you_?” Wonwoo played along, changing his voice, pretending to be Seungkwan’s mother.

“Eomma! It’s me, Seungkwan,” Seungkwan continued. “I can see Jeju right now!”

“ _Oh, you do?_ ” Wonwoo-slash-Seungkwan’s mother, replied. “ _Come home soon, my son! I miss you!_ ”

“I miss you, too, Eomma! I’ll be home soon! Wait for me!” Seungkwan ended.

“ _Or…don’t come back! I don’t want to see you anymore!”_ Wonwoo joked.

“ _Yah,_ Seungkwan’s mother hates him!” Jeonghan said.

“Everyone! Let’s send a message to our friends back in Yeoseodo!” Wonwoo suggested. He placed his fingers on his temples and concentrated. The rest followed his lead and silently said their sentiments.

“What did you say to them?” Seungkwan asked Chan.

“Told them that there’s a spectacular view we’re seeing and how I wish they’re here,” Chan replied, pouting.

They spent a few more minutes admiring the view before going inside the visitor center that doubled as a restaurant at the observatory.

“Okay, what will we be having for lunch?” Jeonghan asked as he studied the menu plastered on the wall in front of him.

“Ramyeon!” Chan answered cheerfully.

“Ramyeon’s a good choice,” Joshua said, agreeing with Chan.

“Anything else?” Jeonghan asked.

“Oh, let’s get seafood pancakes!” Seungkwan proposed.

“Alright,” Jeonghan said, and turned to the lady at the counter. “We’ll get six of the ramyeon, and one seafood pancake.”

Wonwoo’s jolly personality came out again as they ordered their food. “I’m so happy, coming to this island.”

“We’re happy now, but we’ll be swimming in debt soon,” Hyesun said jokingly.

***

“Hmm? Did you feel that?” Mingyu asked through a mouthful, putting down his chopsticks as he looked at Seungcheol and Jihoon.

“Feel what?” Jihoon asked, looking up from his plate.

“The only thing I’m feeling right now is contentment,” Seungcheol said, picking up another piece of sashimi.

Despite that day’s hard catch, the fisherman they’re with treated them to a lunch of sea molluscs, sea cucumbers, thread sailfish, plus market-bought lunchboxes.

“I feel like I’ve received a message from the abalone team,” Mingyu said.

“I wonder what they’re doing right now,” Jihoon said.

“Probably eating lunch too,” Seungcheol answered. “This stuff is so good. I want to keep working here everyday.”

Mingyu placed two of his fingers on his temples and closed his eyes. “Message sent!”

Seungcheol turned to Mingyu, amused at how the younger boy was acting. “Tell them we’re thinking of them and that we hope they’re doing well.”

“Got it, hyung. I also told them we’re eating good food and, oh, wait, I forgot to tell them something!” Mingyu said. He hurriedly repeated the gesture and after doing so, he smiled to himself.

“What are you smiling for?” Jihoon asked.

“I told Hyesun-noona that you miss her,” Mingyu answered cheekily.

Jihoon stared at Mingyu with no expression on his face, probably just to mess with him. But it amused him when he saw Mingyu starting to realize what he had done.

Mingyu’s smile disappeared and he scratched his head. “You know, hyung, the signal is really bad out here in the ocean. I don’t even think it got sent.”

***

As they made their way down the path, Jeonghan suddenly came to a halt.

“What’s wrong?” Hyesun asked.

“I feel like the Yeoseodo team sent us a message,” Jeonghan answered, looking at each of his friends.

Chan’s eyes went wide. “Really, hyung? What did they say?”

“Hold on,” Jeonghan said, placing his fingers on his temple and closing his eyes. “Retrieving message.”

Seungkwan laughed, bumping into Hyesun. “He’s like a robot.”

Jeonghan opened his eyes and looked bright. “They’re wondering if we’re eating well. Aww. So nice of them.”

“I’ll send them the reply,” Wonwoo volunteered, stepping forward. He closed his eyes and breathed in. “Dear, Yeoseodo Team. Yes, we are eating well. In fact, we ate the food we dreamed of!”

“We had ramyeon and seafood pancakes for lunch,” Joshua joined.

“And we also have chips and choco pie,” Hyesun added.

“Take care of each other and we’ll be back before you know it!” Chan ended.

“ _Sending message_ ,” Seungkwan announced, imitating an automated system. “ _Your message has been sent.”_

The six were walking towards their van but they saw their facilitators approaching them.

“Okay, kids, party’s over,” Jeonghan said as he watched the facilitators walk to them.

“Good afternoon,” one facilitator greeted. “We hope you enjoyed your free time around Cheongsando.”

“We did, thank you,” Joshua answered, polite as ever.

“Please hand over the receipts from your expenses earlier,” the facilitator requested.

Hyesun gave the receipts to the facilitator: one from the supermarket, the other one from the restaurant at the observatory.

“Thank you,” the facilitator said and studied the receipts. “As of this moment, you have accumulated a debt of 53,800 won.”

Seungkwan looked so shocked and turned to Hyesun. “We spent that much already?”

“Right now, please board the van. You will now be taken to a location where you will start working to pay off the debt,” the instructor said.

The six went inside the van, now feeling nervous as to what was waiting for them that day.

They were quiet as the van journeyed on roads they have never seen before, anxious on what their fate would be.

“Well, we still have the choco pie,” Wonwoo said, breaking the silence.

***

Joshua woke up when he felt the van come to a stop.

They were at a place where there were no longer any shops, but just wide fields.

He felt a weight on his left shoulder and he found Hyesun resting her head on him. He smiled to himself and turned his attention to the landscape outside. He wondered why they had stopped.

Hyesun woke up soon. “Are we here?”

“We’ve been here for five minutes already,” Joshua answered.

“Guys, guys, wake up,” Hyesun said, waking Wonwoo, Seungkwan, Chan, and Jeonghan.

The rest rubbed sleep off their eyes and surveyed their surroundings.

All of a sudden, the door of the van opened, and their facilitator instructed them to get down.

“Hey, guys, from here on out, you’ll be using this car instead of the van,” the facilitator said pointing to a small truck. “Please board this and it will take you to your work area.”

The six got out of the van and transferred to the back of the small truck that was waiting for them.

The five had already taken their seats on the back of the truck while Seungkwan looked like he’s having difficulty getting on.

The truck began to move forward, even without Seungkwan getting on yet.

“ _A-Ahjussi!_ Don’t leave without me!” Seungkwan shouted, jogging after the truck,

“Ahjussi! Wait up,” Hyesun said to the driver. “We still have one more companion.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the driver apologized.

Joshua and Jeonghan pulled Seungkwan up and the boy finally managed to board the truck.

Seungkwan sat beside Hyesun, who seem to be worried with him.

“You okay, Baby Boo?” Hyesun asked, wrapping an arm around Seungkwan.

Seungkwan was quiet for a moments, staring into nothing like his soul left his body. But he soon snapped back to reality. “Yeah, I’m fine noona. Just uh—nerves, I guess.”

“All here?” the driver asked.

“Yes, sir,” Chan answered.

And their journey began. The truck drove really slow, which was good, because it was safer since the back of the truck was so open, not having any backrests. But it was also bad, since the slow journey was just prolonging the six kids’ anxiety.

They were waiting to see the ocean or to ride a boat since they knew they’re going to work on abalones but it was to their great surprise that they were taken to a green field and there was no ocean in sight.

“Sir, are we stopping over?” Hyesun asked the driver.

“No, we’re here,” the driver replied.

“I thought we’re harvesting abalones?” Chan said, looking at where they were taken.  
“That’s the scary thing about debt,” Wonwoo said. “You’ll never know where it will take you.”

“Maybe it’s not just harvesting abalones,” Jeonghan said. “It’s abalones _plus_ whatever this would be.”

A group of elderly ladies approached them with warm smiles on their faces.

“Are you Professor Kang’s students?” one of the ladies asked, squinting to get a better view of the six.

“Yes,” Joshua replied politely and smiled at the ladies.

“Just in time!” the other lady said. “We’re gonna be harvesting spring cabbage!” She handed the six their work outfits—Work outfits which comprised of wide floral pants, work gloves, a hat, and…

“Ahjumma,” Wonwoo said, holding the red circular cushion with straps. “What is this?”

“That’s for your bottom,” the lady said. “You wear the straps around your legs, and position the cushion on your bottom.”

Seungkwan and Chan followed the instructions and sat down.

“Whoa! The butt cushion makes it more comfortable to sit like this!” Seungkwan said, patting the cushion.

The six were taken to the field and began their work on the spring cabbage. They each had their own teachers, telling them how to cut the base of the spring cabbage and how to flatten the leaves to make them look like blossoms.

Jeonghan had a teacher who seemed to be very fond of him. On the other hand, Joshua had a tiger-like teacher who was very strict on him but the boy obediently followed and began to get the hang of it. Hyesun and Wonwoo were doing well, easily following the tasks. Chan got scolded by his teacher because he’d mistaken the spring cabbage for spring lettuce. As for Seungkwan, he blended in so well with the ahjummas and ahjussis that his friends had a hard time looking for him when it was time for snacks.

“Have you seen Seungkwan, Hyesun?” Jeonghan asked.

Hyesun looked around the sea of people sitting on the spring cabbage field but she couldn’t find Seungkwan. Like the majority of the people in the field, Seungkwan was wearing red making it harder to spot him.

“I got this,” Chan said, taking off his hat and clearing his throat. “BOO SEUNGKWAN, YOUR KIMCHI SUCKS!”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” a voice answered from the distance. A person in red stood up and turned around, revealing to be Seungkwan. “Who said that?”

“Found him,” Chan said under his breath. 


	13. The Chicken That Launched A Thousand Ships

The six were too immersed in placing the spring cabbage in boxes and loading them in trucks that they didn’t notice the facilitators approaching them.

“Hey, everyone,” one of the facilitators greeted. “Work for the day is finished. You’ve all done well.”

“We’re done already?” Seungkwan asked, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. “Just when I was getting warmed up.”

“That’s the last of them,” Joshua said, loading the last box on the truck. He was still sniffing and coughed a bit.

“You didn’t tire yourself too much, did you?” Hyesun asked, patting Joshua on the back as they walked towards the facilitators. “I told you not to exert too much effort.”

Joshua smiled. “I’m fine, Hyesun. I swear, I am.”

“Alright,” she said.

“Everyone, you’ve all worked hard today,” one of the facilitators said. “For your work on the spring cabbages today, you will be paid 50,000 won. The ahjummas loved your work ethic. They said you’re all hardworking, and really willing to learn.”

“Good job, guys,” Jeonghan said, clapping his hands. “So with 50,000 won, that reduces our debt to 3800 won now.”

“Correct,” the facilitator said. “That amount stays the same unless you decide to spend more for dinner tonight, which is inevitable.”

“That’s okay,” Wonwoo said, reassuring his friends. “Now that we know how the advanced credit system works, we’ll be fine.”

“It’s been a pleasure working with you, ahjumma, ahjussi,” Seungkwan said, hugging the workers that stood around them. “I learned a lot today and I’ve developed an appreciation for spring cabbages now.”

The old ladies were particulary fond of Jeonghan and Joshua, squeezing their cheeks as they bid them goodbye.

The six separated with the people at the spring cabbage field and headed back to the town proper of Cheongsando for dinner.

***

“ _Wah,_ that looks so good,” Soonyoung said, watching Seokmin mix the fish stew he made. “Can I taste it, Seokmin?”

“Sure, hyung,” Seokmin said, blowing the ladle before handing it to Soonyoung. He watched as Soonyoung take a sip of the broth. “How is it, hyung?”

Soonyoung’s eyebrows knit and he closed his eyes. “It’s to die for, Seokmin. Good job.”

“Mingyu, the potato pancakes look like they’re almost done,” Junhui said.

Mingyu rolled up his sleeves and flipped the pan with the pancakes. “Look at that color. Isn’t it pretty?”

Junhui looked at the pancakes and inhaled the savory scent of the food. “A few more minutes, then we’re ready.”

The kids left in Yeoseodo were split to their usual teams: the cooking and setting team. Those who couldn’t cook would set the table.

“What do you think they’re doing right now?” Hansol asked Jihoon as they set the table indoors since it was too cold to eat outside.

“Probably about to have dinner, like us,” Jihoon replied. He let his mind wander. He thought of his friends, and he also thought of Hyesun. He wanted them to return soon.

The food was ready and Hansol and Jihoon helped the cooking team bring in their dishes. They set them on the table and their dinner commenced.

“I hope the abalone team is eating well,” Hansol said thoughtfully, earning nods of agreement from his friends.

Mingyu looked at Seungcheol and the former had a knowing smile.

“Why are you looking at me like that, Kim Mingyu?” Seungcheol questioned.

“You’re probably thinking they’re in a hotel right now, huh?” Mingyu teased.

“In a hotel or not, it’s weird to have our group turn this small,” Jihoon said. “I can’t believe this is all of us.”

“That’s true,” Soonyoung sighed. “But, this fish stew is really good, Seokmin. It’s not something you can experience in Seoul on an ordinary day.”

***

In Cheongsando, right after getting back to the town proper, the six picked a restaurant where they’d be having dinner in. Like grocery shopping, they were excited to eat.

“It’s amazing how our lives could change so quickly,” Wonwoo said as he and his friends sat down.

“I know, right?” Jeonghan said. “Jeon Wonwoo, you’re really our bag of luck.” He reached out and patted Wonwoo’s head.

“Okay, what about ganjajang, and sweet and sour pork?” Hyesun suggested, looking at the menu.

“Sweet and sour pork!” Wonwoo cheered and danced. “Sweet and sour pork is my love.”

“What about drinks?” Chan asked. “We can split drinks.”

“Hey, Chan,” Seungkwan said, turning to their youngest. “Don’t be like that! You’re not in Yeoseodo anymore. Drink as much soda as you want.”

“Okay,” Chan said. “Uh, excuse me? We’ll order now.”

“We’ll have six ganjajang, one sweet and sour pork, and six cola,” Seungkwan ordered.

“Uh, no, please make that five cola, and one cup of hot tea,” Hyesun said.

“Really, Hyesun, I’m fine,” Joshua said.

“No, cola’s not good for you right now,” Hyesun said to a protesting Joshua. “You’re having tea.”

Joshua nodded, obeying Hyesun. “Alright. If my doctor says so.”

“You know, Joshua-hyung, you should listen to noona,” Seungkwan said.

After a few minutes, their order arrived.

“Sending the scent of the sweet and sour pork,” Wonwoo said, placing two fingers on his temples. “Are you smelling this, Yeoseodo? It’s sweet and sour pork!”

“What do you think they’d do to us if they find out we’re eating like this?” Chan said, setting down his chopsticks.

Seungkwan sat up. “They’ll probably starve us, since we already ate well here.”

“Well, they can’t really know unless we tell them, right?” Jeonghan said, looking at his friends.

“That’s right,” Wonwoo said. “If nobody asks, then we’re not telling anything.”

“Less talk, less mistakes,” Hyesun spoke her thoughts out loud.

“Exactly,” Seungkwan said.

***

“This is where we’ll be staying?” Jeonghan asked, looking at the small but nice apartment building in front of them.

“Yes, that’s your lodging until you get back to Yeoseodo,” the facilitator replied. “Please, go inside. It’s the first room on the ground floor.”

The six went inside their lodging and they’re surprised at how much of a level up this was compared to their house in Yeoseodo.

“We even have a TV!” Chan cried, pointing to the LED TV on the wall to his left.

“We have an oven toaster!” Wonwoo interjected, motioning to the appliance on the kitchen counter.

“We have a chicken delivery menu!” Seungkwan joined, pulling out a small flyer from his jacket pocket.

“Time for chicken!” Jeonghan announced, sitting on the floor.

The six of them gathered around the leaflet and looked at what they would be ordering.

“Oh, yangnyum chicken looks nice,” Wonwoo said, pointing to the picture.

“It does,” Jeonghan said. “Let’s get three flavors. So we have yangnyum, what else are we getting?”

“What do you want, Hyesun?” Joshua asked, lightly nudging Hyesun with his elbow.

Hyesun looked at the menu and the padak caught her eye. “I want some padak.”

“Good idea,” Joshua said, smiling at her.

“ _Yah,_ padak is amazing, noona,” Chan said, giving Hyesun a thumbs-up.

“Yangnyum and padak. What’s the last one?” Jeonghan asked. “Seungkwan? What do you want?”

“Let’s go with ganjung!” Seungkwan replied. “I’m so excited to eat chicken! What’s wrong with me?”

“And then cola?” Wonwoo suggested, which earned a nod from Jeonghan.

“Okay, Seungkwan, place the order,” Jeonghan said, giving Seungkwan the phone they were loaned by one of the facilitators for the time being.

Seungkwan followed Jeonghan and dialed the number. “Hello? Are you available for delivery right now?” Seungkwan’s face suddenly turned sour. “What do you mean you’re not delivering?”

“The chicken place doesn’t do delivery?” Chan asked quietly.

“But, sir, why do you even have a flyer being distributed if your chicken place doesn’t even deliver?” Seungkwan argued.

For the next moment, Seungkwan’s eyes went wide and he turned red.

“Oh, oh my goodness,” Seungkwan said. “I’m so, so, so, sorry, sir! I didn’t mean to be rude! I didn’t realize. Yes—yes—I hope your business grows you a fortune.” He ended the call and facepalmed. After a few seconds, he began laughing hysterically until his eyes watered.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Hyesun asked a collapsed Seungkwan, laughing on the floor.

Seungkwan clutched his stomach and wiped his eyes. He tried to talk but only laughter came out.

The five became infected with Seungkwan’s laughter and soon, all of them were laughing even though they didn’t know the reason.

Chan was the first one to recover. “So what really happened with the phone call?”

Seungkwan placed a hand on his chest and breathed in. “I—I dialed the wrong number. It was a ramyeon place. Not a chicken place.”

“And he had the guts to argue with the person on the other end,” Jeonghan said, laughing. “Dial the right number this time.”

***

“How’s your allergy, Hansol?” Seungcheol asked as he rinsed a bowl. “Getting better, I hope.”

“Yes, hyung,” Hansol replied. “The rash is disappearing, I just need to finish the meds for a couple of days then I’m all good.”

The setting team of Seungcheol, Jihoon, Hansol, and Junhui were doing the dishes outside when they overhear two facilitators chatting about the team in Cheongsando.

Seungcheol held a finger to his lips, interrupting Junhui’s singing, and he motioned discreetly towards the two facilitators.

“Been sent to harvest something in the field this afternoon, too,” Facilitator A said.

“What? I thought they’re only there for the abalones?” Facilitator B answered. “Poor kids. I hear they’re dead-tired from working in the field.”

Seungcheol, Junhui, Jihoon, and Hansol all looked at each other and tried to hide their surprised faces. They continued to eavesdrop on the two facilitators, wanting to know how their friends were but the two facilitators walked away ending the four’s source of information.

“Is that true?” Jihoon asked worriedly.

Junhui looked so confused. “It could be. But we don’t know. You don’t really know if you could trust them or not.”

“Maybe they purposely had their chat right there, where we could here them, just to make us believe their story,” Seungcheol said.

Hansol shook his head, laughing. “You hyungs are funny. Your trust issues with them are way out of control.”

The four finished washing the dishes and headed back inside. Seungcheol shared to the rest of their friends what they heard from the facilitators’ chat. The room was silent as Seungcheol’s story sank in the Yeoseodo team.

“They’re playing with us,” Mingyu said, breaking the silence. “This distrust is making me hungry again.” He stood up and made his way to the door.

“Where are you going, Mingyu?” Jihoon called.

“I’m going to make some fried sweet potatoes,” Mingyu said, sparking the interest of the rest of his friends.

“Did you just say fried sweet potatoes?” Junhui said, getting to his feet. “I love fried sweet potatoes.”

Jihoon, Seokmin, and Junhui followed Mingyu outside and they began preparing the ingredients for their night snack.

“Fried chicken would be perfect right now, don’t you think?” Seokmin said to Jihoon.

“Add cola to that and you’re in heaven,” Jihoon said.

“Ahh, I want chicken, too!” Mingyu said, bringing out the knife and chopping board.

Junhui sat down beside Mingyu excitedly. “Can you make it like the fries in McDonald’s?”

***

As soon as the doorbell rang, Seungkwan and Chan dashed for the door.

“The chicken is here!” Wonwoo said from the table, raising his hands in celebration. He’s really unusually cheery in Cheongsando.

“One order of yangnyum, one order of padak, one order of ganjung, and five colas?” the delivery person confirmed.

“Yes, sir,” Seungkwan said, handing the money.

Chan took the bags to the table where the rest of his friends were waiting.

Seungkwan closed the door and he was dancing as he sat down.

Chan took out the boxes one by one and the scent of different kinds of fried chicken filled their sense.

Jeonghan distributed the chopsticks and cups.

Hyesun began pouring them some cola.

"This is the yangnyum," Chan said, opening the lid of the first box.

"This one's the ganjung," Seungkwan announced, opening the lid of the second box.

"And here's the padak," Chan opened the last box.

"What are we waiting for?" Wonwoo said. "Let's dig in!"

Hyesun was at the kitchen counter, boiling some water.

"Hyesun, what are you doing over there? Sit down and eat," Jeonghan said, beckoning for Hyesun to join them.

"Coming," Hyesun said, she sat down and placed a hot cup of tea in front of Joshua. "You're still not allowed to drink cola so drink this."

Joshua smiled and nodded. "Yes, doc."

Hyesun returned the smile and took a bite of the chicken. "Oh my gosh, it's so good,"

"Eat up, you two," Jeonghan said, placing pieces of fried chicken on Hyesun and Joshua's plate.

"What would the Yeoseodo team say if they find out we're having chicken?" Wonwoo asked.

Jeonghan's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Let's call them!" He brought out the phone loaned to them and scrolled through the contacts. Once he found the name of the facilitator based in Yeoseodo, he was about to press the call button but Chan stopped him.

"Hyung, you're not asking for a death wish, are you?" Chan said cautiously.

"Call them," Wonwoo argued. "It will be fun."

"It will be so much fun," Jeonghan agreed, liking how Wonwoo pushed for making the call.

"I'm just a bit scared of them, since they're all hyungs," Chan said, popping a piece of padak chicken in his mouth.

"What are you scared of?" Seungkwan asked. "We got Hyesun-noona, we got Jeonghan-hyung, Joshua-hyung, and Wonwoo-hyung."

"We'll be fine, Chan," Hyesun said, joining in on the fun. "Noona's got you."

"That's what I'm talking about," Jeonghan said, pressing the video call button. He gave the phone to Seungkwan and while it was dialing, they removed the boxes of chicken on the table.


	14. Stay Beside Me

"Should I add a bit more syrup?" Junhui asked Mingyu as he stirred the fried sweet potatoes.

"No need, this will do," Mingyu said. He took a piece of the fries and popped it into his mouth.

"How does it taste?" Jihoon asked.

"Hot," Mingyu said, fanning his mouth. "It's just hot."

Seokmin and Soonyoung took pieces of the sweet potato fries and blew on them first before eating them.

"It's good, Mingyu," Seokmin said, patting Mingyu's shoulder.

"Okay, I'll fry the remaining batch then," Mingyu said and set to work.

"Guys, you might want to answer this call," one facilitator told them and offering Soonyoung her phone. "It's the abalone team."

"Oh, it's them? Okay, okay," Soonyoung said, wiping his hands on his shirt before taking the call.

Jihoon, Junhui, Mingyu, and Seokmin crowded around Soonyoung as he pressed the answer button.

The screen showed Seungkwan, Jeonghan, Hyesun, Joshua, Wonwoo, and Chan who were all waving at them.

"We missed you!" the abalone team said, along with other indistinct chatter. "How are you?"

"We're fine!" Soonyoung answered enthusiastically. "We're making fried sweet potatoes! How about you guys? Are you okay?"

"They said you're all working hard there," Junhui said, pointing to them.

"Yeah, we are!" Jeonghan said. "We harvested spring cabbages. It was so tiring."

"We cooked fish stew and potato pancakes for dinner," Seokmin shared.

"That sounds so good, hyung!" Seungkwan said.

"We hope you're all eating well," Jihoon said, his gaze focused on Hyesun at the small portion of the screen.

"Don't worry about us," Jeonghan said. "Since we worked on the field today, the facilitators let us order what we want and we got chicken!"

On the screen, Chan and Wonwoo brought out boxes of chicken and showed the contents to the Yeoseodo team.

"THEY HAVE CHICKEN!" Soonyoung roared and began to jog in place out of his mixed emotions.

"Hyung! We got yangnyum!" Chan said, showing the box.

"YANGNYUM?!" Seokmin and Soonyoung repeated in a shout.

"We also have padak!" Wonwoo said.

"PADAK?!" Seokmin and Soonyoung echoed.

"And the last one's ganjung!" Hyesun said.

"GANJUNG?!" Seokmin and Soonyoung shouted.

Seokmin and Mingyu were screaming their heads off, not believing the situation.

Junhui and Jihoon were the only ones who were quiet at the moment. They were jealous and wanted to have chicken too, but they were amused at what's happening with their friends back at the house as well.

"WHAT'S YOUR ADDRESS IN CHEONGSANDO, HUH?" Soonyoung demanded. "WE'RE COMING FOR YOU."

Seungkwan's side were rowdy too, but they were busy laughing. Chan and Wonwoo deliberately showed them how they were eating the chicken, purposely making them jealous.

Mingyu took the phone and ended the call, ending the Yeoseodo team's agony. "Let's end things here."

"That's right," Soonyoung said. "Don't answer it anymore."

***

"They hung up," Seungkwan said.

"Call them again," Jeonghan ordered. "They can't be like this."

The call connected and it was Mingyu who answered this time.

Mingyu looked so torn between wanting to get the screen away from him and seeing the chicken. He gave the phone to a hungry-looking Seokmin who opened his mouth when Chan held out his chopsticks to the screen, pretending to feed him. Seokmin, in turn, opened his mouth, playing along even though he knew the chicken would never come through the screen.

"Do it now," Jeonghan told Seungkwan, nudging the younger boy with his elbow.

"Seokmin-hyung," Seungkwan began to speak. "You don't have to be like this. You think we can just enjoy this chicken ourselves without sharing it to you?"

Jeonghan took the phone. "Listen, we used up a request."

"A request?" Soonyoung asked.

"We had the chicken delivered to you. It should be there by this time," Jeonghan said, smiling, although there was a different glint in his eyes. "So don't be sad anymore, okay?"

"The chicken! We're having chicken!" Mingyu was heard shouting.

Through the screen, it was evident that the Yeoseodo team's mood had turned celebratory.

"Enjoy your chicken, guys," Hyesun said, waving goodbye.

"We're sorry, hyung," Seungkwan said.

"No need to be sorry," Seokmin said, waving it off. "It's all good, Seungkwan."

"Thanks, guys," Soonyoung said. "You're the best."

"We'll see you soon!" Junhui said from the background. Jihoon stood with him and waved as well.

The call ended and the six in Cheongsando looked at one another.

"How long do you think it will take until the next call?" Wonwoo asked, a smirk playing on his face.

"Ten minutes, or less," Joshua said, resting his back against the wall. "You guys are so bad."

Chan was happily eating the rest of the ganjung chicken. "I can't wait to see their reactions."

***

Soonyoung's eyes widened when he saw a facilitator approaching them, carrying two boxes. "The chicken is here! The chicken has arrived!"

Junhui stood up. "Welcome home, chicken!"

The facilitator handed Soonyoung the two boxes and Jihoon, Junhui, Minghao, and Mingyu crowded around the small table. Seokmin ran inside to wake a napping Hansol.

Once all of them were there, Soonyoung began the unboxing.

"Hello, chicken!" Soonyoung greeted, as he lifted the lid.

"Waaaah," Junhui excitedly said as he watched the box lid being opened.

Their excitement turned into confusion as they saw what's inside the box.

"What is that?" Junhui said, moving his head to look at it at another angle, hoping it was just his eyes.

Mingyu opened the second box and the content was the same as the first box. His smile disappeared.

"TAKE ME TO CHEONGSANDO. RIGHT NOW," Soonyoung demanded, standing up. He was about to go to the facilitators watching them but Jihoon and Seokmin held him down. "TAKE ME TO THEM. I'LL FIGHT THEM."

Junhui laughed it off, looking at the raw chicken in the boxes, while Seungcheol looked like he wanted to laugh too, but he also looked pissed.

"They did send us chicken, though," Jihoon said.

***

“The phone’s ringing,” Seungkwan said through a mouthful.

“How long was that?” Jeonghan asked.

“Five minutes,” Hyesun answered, looking at her watch. “They must be really angry.”

Seungkwan answered the call and once again, the six of them sat together so they could all be seen on screen. “Aigoo, here we go.”

“ _YAH!”_ Soonyoung’s voiced boomed. “ _WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IS? HUH?”_

“Why? Why? What’s wrong?” Jeonghan asked, pretending to be sincerely concerned.

“What’s wrong, Soonyoung?” Hyesun joined the fun, making Joshua laugh beside her.

“ _WHY DIDN’T YOU GIVE THE CHICKEN SOME CLOTHES?! IT’S FREEZING!”_ Soonyoung continued to rage.

The six couldn’t contain their laughter.

“ _WHAT DO YOU EVEN CALL THIS?”_ Soonyoung bellowed, showing the raw chicken closeup on the phone’s screen.

“It’s still chicken?” Jeonghan replied sassily.

The screen showed a lot of hands and for a while it went dark. When the screen finally brightened, it revealed Seungcheol.

“You guys are dead,” Seokmin was heard saying.

Seungcheol smiled at them but it was clear that he had something up his sleeve. “Hey, guys. How are you?”

“Hey, Seungcheol,” Hyesun waved and smiled.

“Are you having fun over there in Cheongsando?” Seungcheol asked.

“We are,” Jeonghan blatantly replied. At the same moment, he popped a piece of chicken in his mouth.

“Well, if you get back tomorrow and this chicken still has no clothes, we’ll throw out your luggage to the street,” Seungcheol said in a singsong voice but the threat was there.

Seungkwan and Chan looked at each other and laughed nervously.

Hyesun knew that Seungcheol was just joking. “Come on, Seungcheol. We know you won’t do that.”

“Hyung, hyung, listen,” Seungkwan said. “This chicken we’re having right now is actually a debt. We’re using this buy-now-pay-later system for things and we’ll be working tomorrow to pay for this.”

“Really? So you’re swimming in debt, then?” Mingyu said, standing beside Seungcheol.

“We are,” Joshua said and waved.

Seungcheol’s expression softened. This guy’s really soft-hearted. “Alright. I hope you pay it off. Stay safe, everyone.”

“Thanks, Seungcheol,” Jeonghan said. “We miss you.”

“Seungcheol,” Hyesun said. “How’s Minghao?”

“Minghao, come here,” Seungcheol called. “Hyesun’s looking for you.”

After a few seconds, Minghao stood beside him.

“Minghao, how are you feeling?” Hyesun asked.

Minghao smiled cutely at Hyesun. “I’m feeling a bit tired, but I still have an appetite, noona.”

“That’s good,” Hyesun said. “Well, go and rest soon, okay?”

Minghao nodded and exited the sight. The Yeoseodo team bid them good night and all was good between the two teams again.

Seungkwan placed the phone on the table and sighed.

“That’s really fun, wasn’t it?” Wonwoo said, smiling brightly.

***

While watching a volleyball match on TV, the six in Cheongsando began their preparing for bed. Jeonghan enjoyed placing face masks on Chan, Seungkwan, and Wonwoo. As for Hyesun, she did her own routine, while Joshua didn’t look very well.

“What’s wrong, Joshua?” Jeonghan asked, kneeling down beside the boy. As soon as Jeonghan asked, the rest turned their attention to Joshua.

“You alright, hyung?” Chan asked, crawling over to look at him.

“I-it’s nothing,” Joshua said and closed his eyes. He rested his head on the pillow and tried to sleep, but he kept on running a hand through his hair.

“Joshua,” Hyesun said softly, coming to Joshua’s side. She placed her hand on his head. “Does your head hurt?”

Joshua turned to face her. He shook his head and pointed to the area above his eyebrows. “It hurts here.”

“Sinus pain,” Hyesun said. “Jeonghan, find me a towel and prepare some hot water. Seungkwan, get me some drinking water.”

Jeonghan and Seungkwan did as they were told and handed Hyesun the things she needed.

“Thanks,” Hyesun said. “You two can go to bed. I’ll take it from here.”

“Okay,” Jeonghan said, getting on his bed. “Just wake us if you need anything.”

The rest retired for the night, leaving only one small light by the sink to illuminate the room.

“Joshua,” Hyesun said, tapping Joshua on the shoulder lightly. “Joshua. Get up for a moment. You need to drink this.”

Joshua opened his eyes and sat up. He took the glass in his hands and Hyesun placed a small tablet on his palm. “Where did you get this?”

“The medicine’s from the supermarket a while ago,” Hyesun answered. “Wonwoo didn’t protest. Even if he did, I’d still make sure to get it.”

Joshua drank the medicine and finished the glass of water. “Thank you.”

“You can lie down now,” she said, taking the glass from his hands. She took the small bowl of water that Jeonghan prepared and wrung the towel. She combed Joshua’s hair with her fingers, clearing his forehead and she placed the towel there.

Joshua looked at her while she was tending to him. “You’re very kind, do you know that? You don’t even have to do this.”

“No, allow me. You need to be well tomorrow,” Hyesun said, giving him a small smile.

Joshua knew it, but he didn’t want to acknowledge it at first. But the more he pushed his emotions away, the more they flooded back like strong waves. He knew he had fallen for her. He didn’t deny it to himself anymore, though he steeled himself since he knew that it was hopeless.

Hyesun stayed on the space beside Joshua and adjusted the cloth resting on his forehead. Once the towel turned cold, she dipped it back into the water and placed it once again on his forehead.

Hyesun removed the towel and put the bowl on the sink. Once she saw that Joshua was asleep, she got up and went to her spot beside a very still Seungkwan.

 ***

It was quarter to two in the morning when Joshua woke up. He sat up and the first thing he noticed was that his headache was gone. The second thing he noticed was that he could breathe a bit easier then. Hyesun's warm compress and medicine worked.

 "Joshua?" a soft voice said.

 Joshua turned to look and saw Hyesun, rubbing sleep from her eyes. He watched as she got up and made her way to him.

 Hyesun sat down beside him. "How are you feeling?"

 "Better," Joshua replied quietly, which made Hyesun smile.

 "That's great," she said. She stood up and got him a glass of water. "Here, drink more."

 Joshua broke into a grin. His doctor cared for him real good. "Thank you."

 Hyesun was about to take the glass from him to return it to the sink but Joshua returned it himself. He got back to bed and just as Hyesun was about to get up, he caught her by the wrist.

 "Is there something you need?" Hyesun asked.

 Joshua slowly fixed his eyes on her and opened his mouth, as if to say something. "I know this is already asking too much of you, but...never mind," Joshua shook his head and looked away.

 "What is it?" Hyesun asked.

  _Stay_ , he thought to himself.

 "It's nothing. Don't mind me," Joshua answered, letting go of her.

 "If it's something I can do, then I'll do it for you. What is it?"

 He closed his eyes and willed himself to say what he wanted. He breathed in. "Please, stay beside me."

 Hyesun looked back at him with and she was about to say something when Joshua spoke again.

 "It's just that...You see...I can't remember the last time someone took care of me like this," he blurted. "It feels nice to have someone take care of you. And...and it will make me feel better if you stayed beside me."

 Joshua never liked cursing, but at the moment, he was cursing himself for being so blunt, for being too needy, and lastly, for being the one responsible for his own self-destruction.

 He told himself not to fall.

 But fall he did.

 And the fall went hard.

 He couldn't fight it anymore, so he surrendered to what he was feeling and he thought that the only way to face this was to acknowledge his feelings.

 "Alright," Hyesun said. She got up and with the help of Joshua, relocated her bedding beside his. She settled down and faced him.

 Joshua lied on his side and faced her. "Thank you."

 Hyesun smiled and nodded. She reached out and trailed a finger over his brow. "This doesn't hurt anymore?"

 "No," he answered. "It doesn't."

 "Okay, now, get some rest," she said, drawing her hand back.

 Joshua nodded and closed his eyes.

 ***

Hyesun sleeping peacefully was the first thing Joshua saw when he opened his eyes. It was five in the morning, an hour before all of them would head out and go to the abalones.

He got up and prepared a small breakfast for their group: hot tea and the last six pieces of choco pie they bought the day before.

Joshua was clearing away the wrapper for the tea bags when he heard footsteps approach him. A smile formed on his lips. "Had a good sleep, Hyesun?"

"Hyung, it's me, Chan," Chan said, standing beside Joshua.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Joshua said, closing his eyes in embarrassment. "I thought you were Hyesun."

"It's fine, hyung," Chan said in an unusually cheery voice even though it looked like he had just woken up.

Seungkwan had woken up as well and proceeded to the kitchen counter, taking a choco pie. "That's weird. Noona was beside me when I slept."

"Maybe because you snore too much?" Chan said.

Seungkwan lifted his hand jokingly, as if to smack Chan. "Excuse me, I don't snore. I sleep talk, but I never snore."

"Anyway, I think we should wake them up now," Joshua suggested.


	15. The Sea Between Victory And Defeat

"I've never been on a motor boat before," Seungkwan said. He bobbed on his feet and slowly leaned from left to right. "I really thought that the boat would be rocking so much, but it isn't."

"We're getting close to the abalone nurseries," one fisherman told them.

 The six looked ahead and saw a vast grid-like pattern on the water.

 The motor boat approached one grid and docked there. One worker alighted and showed the six how to get on the floating grid.

 "Looks dangerous," Chan whispered.

 "You'll be fine, Chan," Jeonghan said, patting the shoulder of their youngest. "You just have to be careful and watch your step."

 "Well that's the problem with Chan," Seungkwan teased. "He's clumsy."

 This time, it was Chan who raised his hand, as if he was about to smack Seungkwan.

 Joshua got out first and stepped on the floating grid which was an abalone cage. He walked forward quickly as if it wasn't hard. He turned around and motioned for the others to come down.

 Wonwoo followed, stepping out with Joshua assisting him. He got out fine without slipping into the water. He had a grin on his face. "Oh, you can feel the waves a bit."

 "I'm starting to think that Wonwoo-hyung got switched with someone else, you know?" Seungkwan said.

 Hyesun stepped forward. It was her turn to get off the boat. Joshua and Wonwoo held out their hands for her to take. With reassurances and smiles from the two boys, she stepped out and was soon standing with them. "Well, that was easier than I expected."

 Chan, Seungkwan, and Jeonghan all got down quickly and easily, quelling Chan's fears of falling.

 The six were shown how to untie the knots of the abalone cage for harvest and soon, all of them set to work. The four oldest members of the abalone team were doing well, quickly untying knots here and there while the maknaes Seungkwan and Chan were slowly but surely proceeding with their task. But it was Joshua who shined the most. He quickly unraveled the ties and walked effortlessly around the narrow floating grid, helping whoever was having a hard time.

After untying countless knots, it was time for the boat to haul in the big net with abalones. A crane passed by the six and it lowered a hook. It swung around, not violently, but someone could really get hit in the face if it wasn't caught. And it was Joshua who caught it in one clean catch as soon as he lifted his right hand.

"You're really cool, hyung," Seungkwan complimented. "How are you so good at this?"

"I'm not that good," Joshua said, always being modest. "Maybe it's just that I'm feeling better now?" He smiled and looked at Hyesun.

Jeonghan saw this exchange of looks and smiled. "If you're feeling better this quick, then Hyesun must've taken care of you very well."

***

"Oh, so this is where they take the abalones next," Wonwoo said as their boat approached a dock with a warehouse just in front of it.

The abalones were brought out and the six of them carried the cages together inside the warehouse. They were tasked to remove the abalones and sort them according to their weight. The six set to work again, their full concentration on the tasks, yet occasionally finding time to enjoy the moment.

Once again, Jeonghan and Joshua became the crowd favorite. The mothers working there were particularly fond of them, just like the day before when they were working with spring cabbages.

"This is unfair," Seungkwan said. "They had the attention yesterday. This can't go on."

"What are you going to do, Seungkwan?" Hyesun asked, piling the abalones she scraped off to an empty basin.

Seungkwan belted out a song, surprising everyone in the warehouse with them with his powerful vocals. Chan was surpised and fell off his stool laughing. Wonwoo, along with the other workers, clapped his hands and swayed his head to the song.

" _Aigoo_ ," Chan said, getting back to his work. "He'd really do anything." 

The six soon found their rhythm and in no time, they were working through the abalones like machines--carrying the cages inside, scraping off the abalones, washing them, and finally sorting them.  They were given a break to eat some abalone porridge but as soon as the meal was finished, they all went back to work as if they had been doing this for a long time. The facilitators watched them, looking at one another and nodding in approval at how the six did their tasks.

"Students of Professor Kang," a voice announced, making the six look up from whatever they were doing. It was an elderly man who seemed to be the manager of operations in the warehouse. "I am pleased to announce that you have successfully filled up your required work hours for this activity."

"We're finished?" Hyesun asked.

"Yes, please leave your equipment on the bin to your left and gather outside," the manager instructed.

The six did as they were told and soon met up with the manager outside the warehouse.

"For today, I am more than pleased to see young people work so hard," the manager said, smiling at them. "So for the work you've given, you will be paid 600,000 won worth of high-quality abalones." 

Seungkwan's eyes widened as he turned to Jeonghan. "600,000 won?" 

"Yes, son," the manager said approvingly and motioned for a tub of abalones to be brought before him. "Thank you for your hard work." He bowed. In turn, the six bowed to him as well. The manager bid them goodbye and left them to the facilitators. 

"Each abalone is worth 6,000 won," the facilitator said. "You may use the abalones to pay your remaining debt of 163,000 won." 

Jeonghan gathered them and began calculating. In the end, they used twenty seven abalones while still having a remainder of 1,000 won. For the 1,000 won, the facilitators agreed that it could be paid through a performance.

Without wasting a moment, Seungkwan immediately put on a show, pulling Chan and Wonwoo with him. 

The facilitators clapped and accepted their final payment. "Thank you for the wonderful performance. You're now clear of any debt. Congratulations!" 

Wonwoo danced happily. "Finally!" 

***

"How do you think Hansol and Junhui are doing?" Seokmin asked as he chopped up some sweet potatoes.

"Probably catching a lot," Jihoon answered. "Junhui's good at fishing."

"Hyung, here's your piece," Mingyu said, placing a fried piece of fish on Soonyoung's plate.

"Thanks," Soonyoung said. 

Over at the house in Yeoseodo, the members were enjoying a brunch of deep fried fish and fried sweet potatoes when Professor Kang approached them. The boys put down their plates, greeted her, and focused on what their professor had to say. 

"Looks like you've adjusted to the island life well," Professor Kang began. "Mr. Kim, I see you've taken care of your friends with your critical cooking skills."

"We managed, professor," Mingyu replied, smiling at the compliment.

"I went here since I was wondering if you're interested in playing jokgu with the other facilitators," Professor Kang said, taking time to look at Jihoon, Seokmin, Soonyoung, and Mingyu. "Of course, whoever wins can demand anything."

The four exchanged looks, a million possibilities running in their heads.

Mingyu pulled his friends into a huddle. "This is our chance, guys. We win, we can demand what we want."

"Cola!" Soonyoung whisper-shouted excitedly.

"No, we need to think long-term here," Jihoon said. "Something that will last us."

"Are you done with your meeting?" Professor Kang asked. "The offer will be expiring soon."

The four boys turned back to their professor, giving each other a final nod of understanding.

"We accept the offer, professor," Seokmin said.

"Great," Professor Kang said. "Go to the docks in half an hour."

The four looked at one another and knew that there was one other thing they had to take care of: how to tell Seungcheol that all four of them would be going out without dropping the reason.

"Then let's just tell him the truth," Mingyu suggested.

"No, we don't tell him," Seokmin said. "What if we lose and the facilitator decides to make us do something we don't want?"

"Like a punishment? But he will be asking," Jihoon pointed out.

"How about this," Soonyoung began. "We say that Professor Kang asked the four of us to go out."

"If he asks where we went and what we did?" Mingyu followed up.

"Professor Kang asked the four of us to help an aunty with her garden, how about that?" Seokmin suggested.

Jihoon nodded. "That could work."

"Who's gonna tell hyung?" Soonyoung asked.

"Not me, my facial expression will give us away," Mingyu said, shaking his head.

"You do it, Seokmin," Jihoon ordered. "Your train of thought and conversational skills are good."

"Alright," Seokmin said, nodding. He looked so determined, then after a few moments, he turned back to Jihoon, confusion written all over his face. "Yah, are you telling me that I'm the most capable to lie, then?"

"I never said that. Just do it, please?" Jihoon said.

"What are we gonna do with the food?" Mingyu asked.

"Bring it inside then we—" Soonyoung began to say but was cut off.

"Guys, I made an inventory of our ingredients," Seungcheol said, joining the four boys at the front yard. "We're short on meat so we need to do some fishing soon."

Mingyu bit his lip and dropped his gaze.

"Oh, that's good, hyung," Seokmin said without missing a beat. "But for now, Prof Kang wants the four of us to help this aunty with her garden."

Jihoon and Mingyu exchanged nervous looks.

"Oh, okay," Seungcheol said, fully believing what Seokmin said. "You should get ready. I'll bring the food inside and wash the dishes."

Seungcheol's kindness made the four boys feel bad for lying to him.

***

"I don't feel so good about this," Soonyoung said as they made their way to the meeting area. "I'm sorry, hyung."

"Let's not be nervous," Jihoon said, turning to Soonyoung. "Just remember to kick the ball after it bounces, not before. A little control on the force and you're all good."

"I want to win. I want that prize," Mingyu said, his gaze focused ahead, expression dead serious.

They reached the docks and saw that there had been an improvised net set up and beside Professor Kang were four facilitators they'd be playing against.

"Have you thought of what you want as a prize?" Professor Kang asked as the four boys stood before her.

Jihoon, Soonyoung, Seokmin, and Mingyu looked at one another for confirmation.

"We want an unlimited supermarket shopping spree, professor," Mingyu said.

Professor Kang's eyebrows went up in amusement and nodded. "Sure. What about the facilitators, what do you want to get if you win?"

"We want you to cook a dinner," one of the facilitators said.

Seokmin and Mingyu glanced at each other.

"For only the four of you? No problem," Seokmin said confidently.

"Let me finish," the facilitator said, holding up a hand. "We want you to cook a dinner for eighty people. We'll invite some of the villagers and fishermen you worked with for the past few days."

Soonyoung and Jihoon's jaws dropped.

"Big problem," Mingyu said, beginning to pale. He knew full well that he'd be the one suffering the most since he's the one in charge of cooking. He turned to Jihoon. "Really big problem, hyung."

Jihoon knew the gravity of the situation. If they lost, they'd have to explain to their friends why they'd have to cook for eighty people. "It's going to be fine, Mingyu. Don't worry too much."

The players shook hands with one another and assumed their places.

"Let the game begin," Professor Kang said.

***

The boys were delighted to be able to score first, and through the carelessness of the facilitators as their hits kept on going out of court, the boys scored more.

“I can’t wait to go to that supermarket,” Mingyu said excitedly.

But the facilitators began to take the game seriously and they began to catch up with the boys’ score.

“Mine, mine, mine,” Jihoon said, quickly jogging backwards to hit the ball, passing it to Mingyu.

Mingyu kicked the ball, but he did so before it bounced. That was a point for their opponent.

“Kick the ball after it bounces,” Jihoon said, feeling pressured now.

“Sorry,” Mingyu said, frowning.

The boys did their best but the score came to a tie of all nine. It was a race to fifteen. Only six points left until one prize would be granted.

Jihoon stayed at the back, guarding their rear. Among the four of them, he was the best at jokgu but he alone couldn’t carry their team to victory and he made mistakes and miscalculations as well. His team made a couple more mistakes until the facilitators surpassed their score. It was now twelve-nine.

The facilitators served the ball which the boys skillfully returned to the opposite side.

Seokmin maneuvered into position to return the ball but the force of his hit was not enough, making the ball hit the net. He dropped to his knees as he realized his mistake. “Aigoo. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay,” Jihoon said, readying himself for the next serve.

_Thirteen—nine._

The next point went to the boys, as their opponents committed a mistake in the service.

_Thirteen—ten._

Their opponent served once more, but this time, there were no errors but it was flying to the boys’ court at full speed. Seokmin, Soonyoung, and Mingyu missed it. Only Jihoon could save them now.

Jihoon backed away quickly but he lost his footing and fell. He earned a graze running along his forearm. Maybe his nerves got the best of him too. His fall made him miss the ball, giving the point to the facilitators.

_Fourteen, ten._

“Hyung!” Seokmin shouted and ran to help him up. “Are you hurt?”

“It’s nothing,” Jihoon said, dusting himself off, not minding his wound. “Let’s get back to the game, Seokmin.”

Professor Kang held up a hand, interrupting the game. “Lee Jihoon, is everything alright?”

“Yes, professor,” Jihoon answered, holding up a thumb.

Professor Kang nodded and signaled for the game to resume.

“Say goodbye to that shopping spree,” one facilitator teased.

“I’m getting excited for that dinner tonight,” another one joined.

One of the facilitators assumed position and served the ball without error, letting it fly to the boys’ court.

“Easy on the ball now, Soonyoung,” Seokmin said as he watched Soonyoung maneuver into position to receive the ball served by the other side.

“I got it. I got it,” Soonyoung said, kicking the ball right after it bounced, sending it to their opponents’ court.

“Yes!” Jihoon shouted, as he watched the ball fly. But his smile disappeared and he felt his stomach drop when he saw the ball soar too far. “No…”

The game was over.

The facilitators won.

Mingyu, Seokmin, and Jihoon gathered, while a disappointed Soonyoung walked towards the docks and stared into the sea.


	16. Return to Yeoseodo

“Soonyoung, come on,” Jihoon called.

Soonyoung joined them and the four boys, despite disappointment written all over their faces, plastered a smile and shook hands with the facilitators.

“That was a good game,” one facilitator said to them. “For a consolation prize, we prepared this for you.” He called one of his co-facilitators and presented the four boys eight big bottles of soda.

The sight of the sight of the soda bottles made the boys’ eyes widen in surprise, but not enough to make them forget that they had to cook for eighty people that night.

The boys thanked the facilitators for their gifts.

“What are we gonna tell Seungcheol-hyung now?” Mingyu asked, looking at Jihoon, then at the soda bottles.

“We stick with our excuse,” Jihoon said. “That we went to help out an aunty with her vegetable garden.”

“What are we going to do with these bottles?” Soonyoung asked. “We take them home with us?”

“We can, we say that it’s a prize for what we did,” Jihoon suggested, making Mingyu nod.

“No,” Seokmin said, making his three friends look at him. “We’re not taking those bottles with us right now.”

The three stared at Seokmin, wondering what his reason might be.

“We’re not bringing them home now because we need something to use later when we convince everyone that we have to make dinner for eighty people,” Seokmin explained, looking dead serious. “Seungcheol-hyung knows that we went out for an errand, but does he know we lost a bet?”

“No,” Mingyu answered.

“Exactly,” Seokmin said. “The team in Cheongsando also doesn’t know about this, and _nobody_ needs to know about this. So here’s the plan. We go home and prepare to fish. One of us stays with Seungcheol-hyung at home. Then when the abalone team arrives, we tell them that we want to prepare food for everyone since it’s our last night, plus the facilitators told us that they’d give us something _if_ we do something for them in return.”

It all clicked into place in Jihoon’s head. He never thought how complex and advance Seokmin could think. “That works, Seokmin.”

Soonyoung and Mingyu nodded.

Soonyoung raised his hand. “But who will stay at home with Seungcheol-hyung?”

“You have to do it, hyung,” Mingyu said, placing a hand on Soonyoung’s shoulder. “The three of us are going fishing.”

Soonyoung looked like he was about to get sick. “I can’t. What if he asks?”

“Then make something up,” Seokmin said. “Just hold on until we return, okay?”

“So, recap of the plan,” Mingyu said. “First act: we go home, Soonyoung stays with Seungcheol-hyung while the three of us go fishing.”

“Correct,” Jihoon said.

“Second act: we prepare dinner and break the news to everyone that we need to cook for eighty people,” Mingyu reiterated.

Seokmin nodded. “We can tell Seungcheol-hyung earlier that we’re cooking for eighty people. We’ll tell him that since it’s our last night here, and the villagers have been so good to us, we decided to prepare them a meal.”

Soonyoung pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why do we need to tell hyung earlier?”

Seokmin stepped forward and held Soonyoung by the shoulders. “Because, Soonyoung-hyung, we need him to back us up when the Cheongsando team arrives. I know Seuncheol-hyung will buy it easily, but the Cheongsando team won’t.”

Mingyu’s eyes sparkled in realization. “Third act: use the soda to convince everyone. That’s it!”

The boys ironed out their plan and talked to the facilitators to keep the sodas for now. Seokmin talked to them more, maybe conniving something with them, but he soon joined his friends as they made their way back to the house.

***

"That spike!" Seungkwan shouted, pointing towards the television. "Did you see that spike? THAT. WAS. FLAWLESS."

After the work at the abalones, the six went back to their lodging to rest and were watching a volleyball game, upon Seungkwan's request of course.

Chan and Jeonghan looked genuinely engrossed in the match. Jeonghan was rooting for Seungkwan's team, while Chan, just for kicks, rooted for the other team. Wonwoo was sitting back, watching the game but with a bit of detachment. While Hyesun watched quietly as Joshua rested his head on her shoulder, about to doze off.

They heard the door open so they all looked. But they didn't expect the person standing behind the door.

"Minghao!" Hyesun said, getting to her feet and rushing to bring the boy inside. "When did you get here?"

"This morning," Minghao replied, letting himself be led by Hyesun. "They sent me to the hospital here and gave me a shot."

"How long did you stay in the hospital?" Hyesun asked. 

"I arrived here at eight, administered the shot at like eight-thirty. Then I felt drowsy so they let me sleep. I woke up and it was almost lunch time," Minghao explained.

Seungkwan hugged Minghao. "But you're feeling better now, right? I think it's flu season because even Joshua-hyung's recovering from a cold."

They brought him by the table and sat around him.

"What do you want to eat?" Jeonghan asked eagerly, resting his chin on his fist. "Do you prefer delivery or you want to go around?"

Minghao's eyes sparkled at the mention of going out. "Let's go out, hyung."

The sea breeze greeted the seven as they walked towards the line of restaurants along the road. Minghao picked the restaurant that the six visited the day before but they ordered different items that time.

"It's Soonyoung-hyung who really got agitated last night," Minghao narrated. "He said, 'Take me to Cheongsando right now! I'll fight them!' He really snapped."

"Told you Soonyoung's going to rage about this," Joshua said, shaking his head.

Seungkwan, Chan, and Jeonghan were very amused, holding in their laughter upon hearing Minghao's story.

Chan recovered and asked Minghao the most vital question. "Seungcheol-hyung didn't really throw out our things, did he?"

The rest looked at Minghao, suddenly very interested as they remembered Seungcheol's threat from the night before.

"Don't worry, he didn't," Minghao answered, making all of them release the breath they were holding. "Actually, he was really worried when he heard you guys told us you had a debt."

Jeonghan smiled. "Aww, did he really? That's very kind of him."

Their food arrived and they were happy to see Minghao and Joshua eating well. When they finished, they went to the supermarket and bought some yogurt and then they headed to the beach.

Jeonghan, Joshua, and Wonwoo sat on the empty chairs by life guard's post. Seungkwan and Chan were running around. At one point, the two boys started doing cartwheels and other complex moves. As for Hyesun and Minghao, the two enjoyed a leisurely walk as they caught up with one another.

"Our group's really small when you're not around," Minghao said to Hyesun as they walked along the shore. "We all had dinner indoors last night and it really felt different to see us incomplete."

Hyesun smiled. "I've gotten used to having meals with thirteen people, too. When we went here, I missed you guys."

It was Minghao's turn to smile this time. "I'm sorry if we're too noisy and rowdy at times. We're quite a handful, you see. Anybody back at Yeoseodo you're missing more than the others?"

Hyesun looked at Minghao and shook her head, suppressing a smile. "Why did you suddenly ask me that?"

"Because there's someone there that misses you," Minghao said.

"How could you say so?" Hyesun asked, her thoughts drifting to someone back in Yeoseodo.

"I know so," he said, giving her a knowing smile. "The person who came to your mind first is the one I'm talking about."

Seungkwan jogged towards Minghao and Hyesun. "Hyung, noona. The facilitator just called Jeonghan-hyung. Said we're leaving in an hour and a half."

The seven went back to their lodging and fixed their things. For the remainder of their stay in Cheongsando, they spent their time at the port area, taking in the views as they waited for their boat.

***

The boat docked and the seven alighted, feeling nostalgic despite their very recent first arrival at Yeoseodo.

"I can't believe I'd be this happy to be back here," Seungkwan said, looking around.

"Time went by fast, huh?" Wonwoo said.

"It sure did," Joshua agreed. "This has become our home."

Hyesun nodded. "That's true."

"Chan, what do you say we spend Christmas here?" Jeonghan asked, slinging an arm around Chan's shoulder.

Chan shook his head quickly. "No thanks, hyung. But my family expects me to spend Christmas with them."

"I'm just kidding," Jeonghan said. "You're right. Be a good son and go home."

The sun was getting low and the wind was cold but the seven were excited as they walked along the stonewall path back to their house, carrying the goods they worked for in Cheongsando.

***

"When do you think they're getting back?" Jihoon asked as he fanned the fire for that night's dinner. He looked up at the sky and it was almost sunset.

Junhui smiled and looked at Jihoon. "Jihoon, this is the third time you've asked that question."

"No, it's the fourth, actually," Seungcheol pointed out, holding up four fingers.

"He misses them that much," Soonyoung said to Hansol, fanning his own fire.

The house team had to light multiple cooking places since they had to cook for eighty people that night. Of course, only Jihoon, Soonyoung, Mingyu, and Seokmin knew of the details but Seungcheol, Hansol, and Junhui had already been told of the idea to make dinner for a lot of people as a way of saying thanks and they didn't question the suggestion, much to the jokgu players' relief.

"Hyung, you want to see someone?" Hansol asked bluntly.

"Don't worry, hyung. They're probably walking back here right now," Mingyu said, grinning.

"I want to see all of them. I just want us to be complete again," Jihoon said, trying to answer with reason so as not to be the center of the fun.

"True," Seokmin agreed. "But he's been looking at the gate every now and then, too. Talk about being—"

Seokmin was cut off when they heard voices singing and laughing in the distance. Yeoseodo was a quiet place so they easily heard the voices.

"You guys hear that?" Seokmin asked, looking up from his pot of rice. He left whatever he was doing and walked outside the gate of the front yard.

Seungcheol, Mingyu, Hansol, Junhui, Jihoon, and Soonyoung stood up from their spots and waited for Seokmin to return.

After a few moments, the ones left at the front yard heard bursts of laughter which sounded much closer, clearer, and much more recognizable.

" _Yah!_ Cheongsando team has returned!" Seokmin's voice boomed from the streets.

The announcement made their hearts skip a beat. They looked at one another and all of them were smiling.

Junhui stood by the gate excitedly and welcomed the abalone team with a hug as they walked inside the front yard one by one.

Jeonghan was the first to walk in. As soon as he pulled away from Junhui, Jeonghan ran to Seungcheol and the latter trapped him in a hug. "I missed you, Seungcheol."

Joshua was the next to enter. Seokmin greeted him and showed the older boy what he was cooking.

Wonwoo followed, and Mingyu ran to him. " _Yah,_ Mingyu, put me down." 

After spinning him around, Mingyu let go of Wonwoo.

Minghao entered the front yard and Seungcheol ran to the younger boy.

"How are you? You're well now, right?" Seungcheol asked Minghao as he placed a hand on the younger one's head.

Minghao nodded and reunited with the rest of them.

"Boo Seungkwan coming through!" Seungkwan announced, carrying a box of spring cabbages as he walked inside.

Hansol approached him and hugged him from behind. "Seungkwannie!"

Seungkwan put down the box he was carrying and faced Hansol. " _Aigoo_ , it's good to see you again, Hansol."

" _Yah_ , we've only been away for one day but you act like you've been gone for ten years!" Wonwoo joked.

Chan was the next to enter the front yard. He carried a box with him and Soonyoung went to him.

"Oh, what have you brought us, maknae?" Soonyoung asked.

"It's a secret, hyung. But I think you'll love it," Chan replied.

Jihoon watched as the six boys reunite with them but he was still waiting for one more person—the person he missed the most and had been wanting to see. When Seungkwan had entered, Jihoon already made his way near the gate.

Hyesun made her way through. As soon as she pulled away from Junhui’s welcome back hug, she locked eyes with was Jihoon. She smiled as she walked towards him. "Jihoon!"

Jihoon closed the distance between them and embraced her, holding her as tight as she held him. At that moment, he didn't care if all twelve of his friends saw how he acted. What mattered was that Hyesun was back and he was just being true to his feelings.

"Best thing I've seen today," Seungkwan was heard saying while the others cheered.

"I second that," Mingyu said.

Hyesun and Jihoon pulled away from each other but stayed next to each other close enough.

"So what's inside the boxes?" Soonyoung asked.

Seungkwan opened the box he carried. "Spring cabbage! Chan! Open the next box!”

Chan followed and lifted the lid of the second box to reveal the abalones.

Everyone except the ones who went to Cheongsando flocked around the box of abalones.

“One abalone costs 6,000 won,” Jeonghan shared, making the others look at him in amazement.

The Cheongsando team got settled and in and soon joined their friends in the front yard to prepare for dinner.

Soonyoung, Jihoon, Mingyu, and Seokmin observed as they watched their friends from Cheongsando assemble at the front yard. Soonyoung, Mingyu, and Seokmin looked at Jihoon and nodded at him.

Jihoon took that as a signal and started. "I can't believe it's our last night here."

Like how they rehearsed it, Soonyoung replied to Jihoon's statement on cue. "Yeah. A couple of days ago, I want this to be over but now..." He even sighed to make his act look more compelling. 

Mingyu and Seokmin also expressed their sentiments as well in order to set the tone for the next part of Jihoon's spiel.

"Since it’s our last night here in Yeoseodo, why don’t we use up all our ingredients and make a meal for everyone who had been part of our stay?" Jihoon said in his best convincing-yet-trying-to-be-sincere tone. "We had a hard time adjusting at first, but we got used to it now, right?”

Soonyoung, Mingyu, and Seokmin nodded enthusiastically, supporting Jihoon’s speech. They had to convince everyone.

“What do you say we prepare a meal for them as a way of saying thank you?” Jihoon continued. He looked at each one of their members and hoped that he sounded genuine enough.


	17. No More Secrets

“That sounds good to me,” Mingyu said, keeping a straight face.

Jeonghan narrowed his eyes, analyzing the situation. He turned to look at Mingyu, but the younger boy looked away, afraid to get caught lying.

“Actually, that’s a good idea, hyung,” Seokmin jumped in. “Just use them all so none of the ingredients go to waste.”

Chan began to nod. Finally, _one_ person from the Cheongsando team had been convinced.

Soonyoung began to speak. “Looks like we’re preparing for eighty people and—“

“Eighty people?” Joshua exclaimed, stepping forward. He looked at Jeonghan and Seungkwan and turned back to Soonyoung. “Did you just say prepare for eighty people?”

Jihoon saw Hyesun studying them and he knew their plan was going to fail sooner or later. He knew Hyesun could see through whatever show they were putting on.

“Eighty people, Kwon Soonyoung? Did you hear yourself?” Jeonghan said, laughing. He looked at Soonyoung first then he turned to face Mingyu. “How in the world are we going to cook for eighty people?”

Wonwoo, Joshua, and Hyesun looked at one another, suspicion evident in their eyes.

 _Abort mission! Abort mission!_ Jihoon thought as he looked at Mingyu, who looked like he was just doing his best to hold in his panic. For the longest time that Jihoon had known Jeonghan, he learned that once Jeonghan had you cornered, it’s very rare for you to escape. Add the very observant Wonwoo, Minghao, and Joshua, the ever meticulous Seungkwan, and now, the clever Hyesun, the chances of Mingyu being found out were very high at the moment.

Mingyu made his way to the other side of the yard to stand beside Jihoon, then he found his voice. “Hyung, what we’re saying is let’s just use up all that we have since it’s our last meal.”

“That’s right,” Seokmin added, trying to save whatever could be saved. “And we just want to share what we have.”

“Hang on a second,” Seungkwan said. He put on a hat, one he got from working with the spring cabbage. He studied Seokmin, Mingyu, Soonyoung, and Jihoon closely, his eyes staying on each boy for about three seconds. He turned to his companions in Cheongsando. “Is it just me or do you also find something weird going on around here?”

“There’s _definitely_ something,” Jeonghan said in a calm tone, but the look in his eyes was deadly.

Seokmin put on a confused look. “Why? What’s wrong?”

Seungkwan paced around, still wearing the hat. If it weren’t for the great tension in the air, Jihoon would have laughed at how Seungkwan walked around with that hat. But at the moment, Jihoon couldn’t.

“The night before we left for Cheongsando, there wasn’t a lot of ingredients left,” Seungkwan said. “Are saying you want to cook for a lot people just because you saw the things we brought home?”

Jihoon looked at Seungcheol and he, too, looked engrossed in the argument going on. Seungcheol was their only hope. As long as their hyung believed them, he could save them. But Seungkwan was a very convincing talker.

"What if we didn't have any spring cabbage or abalone to bring home? Would you still want to cook for that many people?" Seungkwan interrogated. "How sure are you that we can cook for eighty people?"

Mingyu took a step towards Seungkwan. "Look, you don't have to be like this, Seungkwan. What Soonyoung-hyung meant was just to use all ingredients."

"Yes," Jihoon said. Their argument must be firm and consistent. "To share what we have. We're not literally going to make dinner for that number."

"Yeah," Soonyoung joined. "Making dinner for eighty people? That's crazy!" Soonyoung laughed, hoping to ease the tension.

Seungkwan stood his ground and looked back at Jeonghan, Wonwoo, Joshua, and Hyesun, all of whom, just like Seungkwan, were dangerously analyzing the situation.

"Did you guys have a bet or something?" Jeonghan asked Mingyu.

As Jeonghan dropped the question, Jihoon found Hyesun looking at him, as if she were asking him with her eyes. Jihoon quickly looked away, not wanting to be found out. He just hoped that he didn't look too flustered.

Mingyu shook his head. He looked so uneasy and no words came out of his mouth.

"Hyungs, and noona," Seungkwan spoke, removing the hat he was wearing, and turning to look at his companions in Cheongsando.

"If I may, I just want to point out that from what I've seen ever since we arrived, these four people," Seungkwan said, motioning to Jihoon, Seokmin, Mingyu, and Soonyoung. "Are not the kind to want to cook for others."

"What, you're thinking we don't have the heart to do that?" Jihoon challenged. He really needed to have this plan succeed.

"You, Jihoon-hyung!" Seungkwan cried, pointing a finger at Jihoon. "Your speech a while ago was weird enough. And now, this!"

Hyesun looked on at the discussion with amusement in her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile. Jihoon saw her disposition and it looked like she already knew. Their gazes met and Jihoon pleaded with her with his eyes. He slightly shook his head as if to beg her to let them off. She gave him a small smile and nodded.

"Well, what are we going to do with the food anyway? There's no use having leftovers," Mingyu said.

"That's true," Seokmin said. "And the facilitators worked so hard, too. Don’t you think it’s just right that we cook a meal for them?"

It was Jeonghan who snapped this time. "That’s it! Lee Seokmin, you are acting weird!"

While there was tension between Seokmin's jokgu group and the Cheongsando team, Seungcheol, Junhui, and Hansol couldn't help but laugh as Seungkwan began imitating the way Seokmin spoke.

"No, it’s true, hyung," Seokmin defended. "The facilitators didn’t have it easy, too. Also think of the village elders and fishermen who helped us."

"You suck so much at acting!" Jeonghan cried, pointing at Seokmin. He was about to go on a rampage if it weren't for Seungcheol who pacified him.

"Jeonghan, aren't you glad they're trying to be nice?" Seungcheol spoke. "Why do you think they have bad intentions?"

"We have _nothing_ but nice intentions!" Seokmin exclaimed.

Wonwoo smirked. "I don't know, but it's just kind of suspicious, though. The way I see it, they probably made some kind of bet and lost."

Hyesun looked at Wonwoo like he just dropped the most interesting cup of tea.

"Say it louder, Wonwoo-hyung!" Seungkwan said, clapping his hands. "Louder for the people at the back!"

Like what Jihoon had hoped for, Seungcheol fortunately came to their defense.

"Why do you find this weird?" Seungcheol asked, turning to Jeonghan's team."They just said they wanted to prepare dinner for those people. What's so wrong about that?" 

Junhui and Hansol nodded, fully convinced like Seungcheol.

Jihoon tapped Seokmin's arm discreetly and held up three fingers, signalling the other boy to start the third act since they were desperate.

Seokmin quickly understood. "Mr. Facilitator, a while ago, Professor Kang said you’d give us something if we make food for you, right?"

The facilitators nodded, playing along, to Jihoon's relief.

"They promised there would be a reward!" Jihoon pushed, doing his best to convince everyone.

Seungkwan's eyes widened. He looked at the facilitators then back at Seokmin's group. "Is this true? They really had nice intentions?"

The facilitators approached them, carrying large bottles of soda. At the sight of the drinks, everyone, except for Jihoon, Mingyu, Seokmin, and Soonyoung, celebrated and jumped around.

In the blink of an eye, everything was solved when the soda appeared.

Seokmin fell to his knees, acting as best as he could. "Wahhh! I really wanted to drink soda!"

Jihoon, Mingyu, and Soonyoung also had to act like they were surprised. Their mission was nearing its completion so they did their best as the operation approached its final stages.

"You guys must have really wanted to drink cola, huh," Jeonghan said. He looked like he was slowly being swayed. "Well, I want to drink it too."

Hyesun stood beside Jeonghan and looked at Seokmin. "I guess they really did."

"The cola would really go well with the chicken last night so we really wanted to have some, hyung," Mingyu answered.

Everyone was busy fussing over the gifted drinks. Mingyu took that as a cue and gathered everyone to start planning on their menu for that night.

"Should we start making dinner?" Mingyu asked.

When neither Jeonghan nor Seungkwan questioned their act anymore, Jihoon, Mingyu, Seokmin, and Soonyoung finally breathed easily. They were in the clear and their mission had been a success.

***

The dinner menu consisted of every last ingredient the fourteen had with them. Chan and Joshua began to clean the abalones were to be grilled. According to Seungkwan, grilled abalones tasted great when dipped in a chili sauce. Junhui requested to Seokmin to have the seerfish he and Hansol caught to be cooked into a spicy fish stew. Seokmin agreed, getting the help of Soonyoung and Minghao. Seungcheol and Jeonghan planned to have mixed noodles, sugar sweet potatoes, and fry the remaining rockfish.

There was also some chicken left from the night before, the one sent by the Cheongsando team as a prank which triggered Soonyoung so much. Jihoon and Mingyu decided to fry it again since chicken went well with soda. Using the skills he learned from one fisherman, Junhui carefully cut the mackerel into sashimi, wowing Hansol as he did so. As for Hyesun, Seungkwan and Wonwoo, they used the spring cabbage to make a vegetable salad.

“Are there still some available pots or bowls we can use?” Mingyu asked, looking around for anything where he can make the batter for the chicken he had just finished cleaning.

“I’ll look inside the house,” Jihoon volunteered, getting up from his work station.

“Thanks, hyung,” Mingyu said as he cut the chicken into smaller portions.

Jihoon went inside the house and began to look for pots and bowls in the kitchen. He rolled up his sleeves and began to open kitchen cabinets, looking for anything they could use for that night’s large-scale dinner preparation.

“What happened to that?” a voice asked from Jihoon’s left.

Jihoon turned and saw Hyesun standing by the back door of the kitchen, holding a couple of utensils. He straightened up and tried to roll down his sleeve but it was too late. “It’s nothing.”

Hyesun set down the utensils on the counter and took Jihoon’s arm, examining the wound. “It’s not that deep, but it definitely isn’t nothing.” She went to the medic corner and took the first aid kit that Soonyoung won on their first day.

“Not here,” Jihoon said, remembering how nobody should really know what happened. It would be fine if it were Seokmin, Soonyoung, or Mingyu who would walk in, but if it’s Seungcheol, Jihoon knew he had a lot of explaining to do.

“Where are you going?” Hyesun asked as Jihoon pulled her hand and led them to the bathroom. Her expression looked even more confused as she saw him lock the door. She studied him for a few seconds before speaking. “Sit down.”

Jihoon obeyed and sat down on the covered toilet. He rolled his sleeves further up and held out his arm.

Hyesun opened the first aid kit and began cleaning the long graze on Jihoon’s forearm. “Anything you’d like to say?” She looked at him for a moment then turned her attention back to her task. Her voice was soft, too soft actually, but the tone was cold and demanding. And her eyes demanded everything.

Jihoon couldn’t make anything up anymore. He sighed. “Mingyu, Soonyoung, Seokmin, and I were cooking when Professor Kang approached us. She made an offer to us.”

“Hmm…” Hyesun said, nodding as she wiped the wound clean with a cotton swab.

“It was a jokgu match. The four of us against four of the facilitators,” Jihoon explained. He paused, knowing that the next part would have to include details.

Hyesun noticed him pausing and looked at him. Her expression had softened and she was once again the warm Hyesun. “And what’s the prize?”

Jihoon knew that Hyesun was quick to catch on, but he never knew she was this quick-witted, immediately connecting the dots. “We wanted an unlimited shopping spree in the supermarket. The facilitators wanted us to cook for them and the rest of the people who helped us during our stay.”

“That’s where the eighty people thing comes in, huh?” Hyesun confirmed, as she finished applying some antiseptic on the wound. She had a big smile on her face, knowing that she was right.

“Yeah,” Jihoon answered. He found the way Hyesun was smiling to be too cute, causing him to smile, too. The tension was now gone and he was glad that he finally got those things off his chest. “You know, I don’t know why you’re still asking me if you already know.”

Hyesun laughed, a sound that Jihoon wanted to hear again and again.

“Okay, so you lost the bet,” Hyesun said, finishing the treatment, applying a bandage on Jihoon’s wound. She set his arm down and rolled his sleeves back down. “Which is why we’re all cooking now, but how did you get hurt?”

Jihoon avoided her gaze and hung his head. To him, the mistake he made was really embarrassing. “Lost my footing.”

Hyesun cupped his face, making him look at her.  Her eyes were full of concern and warmth. “But you’re not hurt anywhere, are you? Only this?”

Jihoon nodded. He stood up and faced her. “But can you promise me—“

“Not to tell anybody?” Hyesun finished, knowing what he wanted to say, leaving Jihoon dumbfounded. “Don’t worry. I already let you off a while ago, right?”

Jihoon couldn’t believe how she knew what he wanted to say. He was too relieved, overjoyed, and he missed her too much that he pulled her in an embrace.

At first, Hyesun was surprised by his gesture, but soon, she wrapped her arms around him and held him too. “What’s the matter, Jihoon?” Her voice was so calming and the way she patted his back made him feel so comfortable.

Jihoon adjusted his arms and hugged her tighter. “I just missed you.”

Hyesun was thankful that Jihoon was holding her, and not facing her or else he would’ve seen her blush. She felt her heartbeat double and basked in the moment of being in his arms. “Oh, I know.” She saw how truthful Jihoon was being towards her, and she thought that maybe she should be honest with him, too. Whatever was going on between them, she knew she should be just as honest as Jihoon was being. “Maybe I should tell you that I missed you too.”

They pulled away from one another with smiles on their faces.

Jihoon’s eyes went wide as he remembered that he was supposed to look for pots and bowls like he promised Mingyu. He opened the door and found Mingyu in the kitchen, looking for the pots.

As soon Mingyu saw the two walk out of the bathroom together, Mingyu dropped the pots he was holding, sending them clanging on the floor.


	18. Come With Me

“Noona, have you seen Seungkwan?” Hansol asked, standing beside Hyesun.

“He’s out on a task with Seokmin, Minghao, and Soonyoung,” Hyesun answered, stirring the spicy fish stew that Seokmin left to her and Junhui’s care. “Hansol, can you try this for me?” She held out a small spoon with fish stew broth for Hansol to taste. She blew on it, cooling it first before feeding it to the younger boy.

Hansol’s eyes widened and nodded. “It’s actually good.”

“Seokmin’s done a good job again on the seasoning,” Junhui said. He placed a lid on the pot and let the stew cook for a few more minutes.

“Where did they go, anyway?” Hansol asked, looking around among his busy companions.

“I just don’t know,” Junhui answered. “Don’t worry. They’ll be back before you—“

“Hyung! Hyung!” Seokmin’s voice boomed from the entrance of the yard. He came running through, looking panicked. He doubled over, catching his breath. “Seungkwan’s hurt!”

“ _What?_ ” Hansol blurted.

Seungcheol and Jeonghan rose from their seats, looking dead serious while everyone else shared worried looks.

Hyesun set down the ladle she was holding on top of the lid of the pot and walked to Seokmin. “Where is Seungkwan?”

Seokmin could only look at them helplessly. “Soonyoung and Minghao’s carrying him back here right now.”

Hyesun dashed inside the house and brought out the first aid kit she used to treat Jihoon’s wound a while ago. She stood beside Junhui and the two of them shared nervous looks.

Seokmin led Seungcheol outside, with Jeonghan and Joshua closely following.

By the sound of it, it seemed that the three older boys had already seen Seungkwan since Jeonghan’s voice could be heard calming down a frantic Seungcheol.

Soon, Seokmin went back with Soonyoung and Minghao, carrying Seungkwan, with Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Joshua closely supporting in case Soonyoung and Minghao accidentally let go of Seungkwan.

“Make way for him! Make way!” Seungcheol ordered.

“Put him here,” Jihoon said, as he and Mingyu quickly removed all the bowls and pans on the low table at the front yard.

Soonyoung and Minghao laid Seungkwan across the table and the boys crowded around a barely conscious Seungkwan.

“Oh my god,” Chan said, covering a hand over his mouth.

Hyesun pushed them aside to see Seungkwan better, holding the first aid kit in her hands. She felt her stomach churn when she saw blood on Seungkwan’s right temple. She placed a hand on Seungkwan’s shoulder. “Seungkwan. Seungkwan, can you hear me?”

Seungkwan groaned weakly and turned his head to face Hyesun. He opened his eyes but closed them again. “Noona…” His voice was weak but clear.

“Seungkwan,” Joshua spoke. His usually gentle voice was firm and commanding this time. “Seungkwan, you can’t go unconscious. It’s dangerous.” He removed his coat and placed it under Seungkwan’s head as a pillow. “Hansol, get me a flashlight, now.”

Hansol handed Joshua a flashlight and Joshua used it to check Seungkwan’s pupils.

“Good, they’re normal,” Joshua said.

Hyesun opened the first aid kit and took out a piece of cloth. She began applying pressure on Seungkwan’s temple to stop the bleeding.

“What happened?” Seungcheol asked.

“The facilitators had us do a task at an abandoned school,” Minghao began. “It was so dark in there. We were terrified so much that we all ran outside. Seungkwan tripped and fell down the stairs.”

Jeonghan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oh my goodness.”

“Noona,” Seungkwan began to speak, reaching his hand, getting Hyesun’s attention.

“Seungkwan, just stay quiet for now,” Joshua ordered, checking Seungkwan’s limbs for any injuries.

Seungkwan pointed to his coat and he winced.

“He’s pointing to his coat. What’s with his coat?” Jihoon asked.

“Did he hurt his ribs?” Wonwoo blurted. “He has a rib fracture?”

Seungkwan winced again and kept pointing to his coat.

Hyesun and Joshua looked around and everyone was just as curious to see what’s inside Seungkwan’s coat.  Joshua unbuttoned Seungkwan’s coat and opened it.

Everyone fell silent when Joshua opened Seungkwan’s coat.

“ _Yah_ , you’re not getting these off me?” Seungkwan spoke, sitting up, to everyone’s surprise.

Everyone, except for Soonyoung, Minghao, and Seokmin, stared at the ramyeon packets and paper packages on top of Seungkwan’s upper half.

“BOO SEUNGKWAN! WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT?” Seungcheol roared, making his way to a smiling but nervous Seungkwan.

Seungkwan quickly removed the ramyeon packets and package off of him and bolted into a run.

“SEUNGKWAN! GET BACK HERE!” Jeonghan raged and began to chase Seungkwan around the yard.

“Hyung! Don’t kill me!” Seungkwan shouted, laughing so much to the point of snorting as he avoided his chasers.

Hyesun looked at the reddened cloth she was holding. “So what is this, then?” She lifted the cloth and smelled it. The cloth smelled like gochujang. She looked at Soonyoung, Seokmin, and Minghao, and the three looked so guilty.

Seungkwan was finally caught by Seungcheol and Jeonghan while the rest watched as the tension began to rise.

“You four,” Seungcheol said, pointing to Seokmin, Soonyoung, Minghao, and Seungkwan. “Sit down.”

The four boys bit their lips, trying hard not to smile.

Seungcheol paced in front of them, while Jeonghan stood by, his arms crossed in front of him. The two looked like parents who were about to ground their naughty children.

“What really happened?” Seungcheol asked, looking at each boy. The way he looked at the four boys told them not to fool around with the answers.

“Hyung, the four of us were called by the facilitators for a task,” Soonyoung began. “The task was a treasure hunt at the abandoned school just a few blocks from here.”

“Soonyoung and I were partners, while Minghao went with Seungkwan,” Seokmin explained. He nudged Minghao with his elbow, signaling the boy that it was now his turn to talk.

“Oh, it’s my turn? Okay. Seungkwan and I went inside the school. It was too dark and the facilitators played pranks on us but we managed to find the treasures,” Minghao narrated.

Seungcheol nodded. “Ramyeon packets, I can see that. But what’s in the paper package?”

The four boys being interrogated looked at each other. They were talking in quick hushed tones and the three of them were pointing to Seungkwan. Seungkwan stood up and took the paper package.

“What’s in the paper package, Boo Seungkwan?” Seungcheol asked firmly, his voice getting deep.

Seungkwan bit his lip and opened the package.

“SAMGYEOPSAL!” the four boys shouted.

Everyone lost their minds at the mention of samgyeopsal.

Jeonghan raised his fists in the air, overjoyed, forgetting that he was supposed to be reprimanding the four younger boys with Seungcheol. Hansol’s jaw dropped and mouthed a silent _oh my god._ Mingyu and Jihoon clapped their hands like they had just seen the best thing. Joshua shook his head, laughing at how everything played out. Wonwoo and Chan danced happily. Junhui went to Seungkwan and took the package from him, preparing to grill the meat.

Seungcheol could no longer maintain his angry expression and broke into a smile. “ _Aigoo,_ you boys are something else.”

“We love you, hyung!” Seokmin said to Seungcheol, showing him finger hearts.

“You scared me,” Hyesun said, throwing the gochujang-stained cloth at Seungkwan.

Seungkwan hugged Hyesun and talked cutely. “I’m sorry, noona. We just thought that it would be fun.”

“Fun? What if I got a heart attack from that skit of yours?” Hyesun asked, not yet letting Seungkwan off the hook. “That applies to all four of you.”

Seokmin, Soonyoung, and Minghao all knelt down and apologized. When Hyesun thought it was too much, she made them get up.

“Okay, okay,” Hyesun said, forgiving them. “You don’t have to go that far. Now, go help the others, we still have a lot to cook. And Seokmin, that spicy fish stew’s good.”

“Thanks, noona,” Seokmin said and went back to the stew he had left a while ago.

Seungkwan was about to go and help the others but Hyesun caught his sleeve. “Huh? I thought I’m forgiven, noona?”

Hyesun laughed. She couldn’t believe this kid. “Let’s wash your hair first. You smell like gochujang.”

Seungkwan followed her inside the house. He fetched his towel from the room and draped it over his shoulders. He sat on a stool in the bathroom as Hyesun turned on the shower and began to rinse Seungkwan’s hair.

“Noona, can we use your shampoo?” Seungkwan requested. “I want to smell like strawberries.”

“Of course, we can,” Hyesun said. She took her shampoo bottle and applied a generous amount on her hand. She lathered it on Seungkwan’s head and soon, the scent of strawberries filled the bathroom.

“ _Aigoo_ , I love this scent!” Seungkwan said, closing his eyes in contentment.

Hyesun rinsed off the shampoo and soon, she began to dry Seungkwan’s hair.

“You should always wash up as soon as you get something on your hair,” Hyesun said. “Or else the smell stays on you.”

Seungkwan nodded, laughing at how he looked in the mirror. “Noona?”

“Yeah?” Hyesun asked, pausing.

“Thank you,” Seungkwan said, looking at Hyesun’s reflection in the mirror. “You’ve really taken care of us. Of me, most of all.”

Hyesun turned Seungkwan around to face her. She pinched his cheeks lightly. “How can I not? You’re my baby brother after all.”

Seungkwan smiled at his noona’s affection.

The two finished soon and joined their friends at the front yard.

It took a couple more minutes to finish cooking everything but when they were done, their guests began to arrive.

Hyesun helped Seokmin serve bowls of spicy fish stew. Hansol and Junhui served the sashimi. Seungkwan and Jeonghan went around, filling everyone’s plates with heaps of vegetable salad. Jihoon and Mingyu fried the remaining chicken and when they saw that there was some fish left, they fried it too. Wonwoo and Joshua brought out the mixed noodles, earning praises as they went around. Chan and Soonyoung distributed the sugar sweet potatoes. Minghao and Seungcheol distributed the sugar sweet potatoes, with Seungcheol asking the guests how the food was every now and then. The samgyeopsal was grilled and the ramyeon was cooked, it was a feast indeed in the front yard of their small house in Yeoseodo.

“You guys should eat now, too!” one of the fishermen said. “You’ve served us enough.”

The fourteen took that as a cue and began to feast on the food. They sat around wherever they could since their front yard was packed.

“ _Yah_ , Seungkwan’s skit was so worth it,” Seungcheol said as he wrapped the meat in lettuce.

Seungkwan looked so happy, but he was happier when he got to eat the wrap that Hansol made for him even though he could barely fit everything in his mouth.

“Hyung,” Mingyu said, nudging Jihoon with his elbow.

“What?” Jihoon asked, turning to Mingyu.

“What were you doing in the bathroom with noona?” Mingyu asked in a low voice. He scooped some rice and looked at Jihoon with a smile plastered on his face. “You’re supposed to look for the pots and bowls like you promised but I was wondering what’s taking you so long.”

Jihoon’s heart rate doubled as he heard Mingyu’s question, but he tried to compose himself. “She treated my wound.”

“And?” Mingyu said, obviously not contented with his hyung’s answer.

“And nothing more. We went out as soon as we were finished,” Jihoon answered. He looked at Hyesun from across the yard where she was seated with Chan and Junhui, remembering the moment they had a while ago.

“If you say so,” Mingyu said in a singsong voice.

Professor Kang approached the fourteen, holding her own bowl of food.

“Professor Kang,” Chan greeted. As soon as he did, all his hyungs and noona greeted their professor as well.

“This is actually good,” their professor said, holding up her bowl. “You could open your own place in the campus and I’d eat there everyday.”

Joshua and Wonwoo patted Mingyu on the shoulder, teasing him to start his own restaurant.

“Thanks, professor,” Mingyu said through a mouthful and smiled shyly.

“I mean it,” Professor Kang said. “You all did a great job.”

“Of course, Mingyu will be the head chef,” Seokmin said. “Junhui and I will be chefs, too.”

“Everyone who can’t cook will be waiters,” Jeonghan said. “Minghao will be the finance head, and Seungcheol and Hyesun would be the managers of the place.”

“Sounds like a plan, hyung,” Mingyu said, shaking his head, yet looking very interested in the idea.

“What will we name the place?” Jihoon asked.

“The Castaways’ Diner,” Soonyoung answered. “And the menu will be everything we had here in Yeoseodo.”

“ _Yah!_ We can’t afford abalones. Get something else,” Hyesun ordered.

“Got it,” Seungcheol said, as if talking to Hyesun on the phone, playing along. “Hello? Minghao? Cancel the order for the abalones, we’ll be short on funds this month if we buy them,”

As usual, the time it took to finish the food was much shorter than the time required to prepare it. All pots and bowls were clean and there was nothing left.

The guests all left and it was now time to clean up.

The cleaning team wasn’t easily decided since everyone actually helped in cooking that night. Another reason why everyone was hesitant to be in the cleaning team was because of the amount of utensils used. The number of people who dined with them that night left mountains of bowls and plates, not to mention all the pans and other things they used to cook for them.

“I volunteer,” Hyesun said, raising her hand.

“Same here,” Seungcheol said, standing beside Hyesun.

“I’ll clean up, too,” Jihoon said, making his way to Hyesun. He loved how she smiled when she saw him volunteer.

“Count me in,” Joshua said as he made his way to stand beside Jihoon.

Wonwoo and Hansol volunteered as well.

“What is this?” Jeonghan said to Mingyu, motioning to the cleaning team. “Joshua and Jihoon’s suddenly enthusiastic to clean just because Hyesun’s there.”

“You should all go inside now,” Seungcheol said to the others. “Pack your things too. We’re leaving tomorrow.”

The rest followed Seungcheol’s orders and went inside, leaving the cleaning team at the front yard.

The six first gathered all the utensils, pots, pans, bowls, and cups used during the dinner, removing the very little leftovers and disposing them in a trash bin. Wonwoo and Hansol wiped the table and cleaned the porch, doing some sweeping. Seungcheol, Joshua, Jihoon, and Hyesun started to do the dishes. The four dishwashers formed a line: Seungcheol and Joshua at the start, where they will clean just using running water, while at Jihoon and Hyesun’s end, they would use dishwashing liquid.

Wonwoo and Hansol finished cleaning and assisted the dishwashing team, placing themselves at the very end where they’d be the ones rinsing everything. The system they used proved to be effective and one more reason they finished quickly was because they were focused.

“I’ve never washed that many dishes before,” Seungcheol said, stretching his arms.

“I’ve washed enough dishes to last me a lifetime,” Wonwoo said, getting up.

They brought the dishes inside and arranged them on the racks.

“Good work,” Joshua said to everyone. “Let’s call it a day?”

Everyone clapped their hands and made their way to their rooms to pack and prepare for bed when Hyesun stopped in her tracks.

“What’s wrong?” Jihoon asked.

“I’m just gonna check if we didn’t forget to shut off the faucet,” Hyesun replied, going outside once again. She checked and saw that they had shut off the faucet properly. She was about to make her way inside the house when she saw a facilitator approach her.

“Thank you for that amazing meal and good work today, but we have a task for you, Miss Song,” the facilitator said.

Hyesun looked at her watch.

It was half past ten.

“What’s the task?” Hyesun asked.

“Pick a companion first, and meet us at the street in ten minutes. We’ll explain it to you later,” the facilitator replied and walked out of the front yard.

Hyesun walked back inside the house and was relieved when she found Jihoon waiting for her. “Are you tired?”

“No, why?” Jihoon asked.

Hyesun nodded. “Dress warmly, Jihoon. We’re going somewhere.”


	19. The Final Task

"We'll be back soon," Jihoon told Seungcheol, as the older boy walked him and Hyesun to the gate.

"Alright," Seungcheol said, placing a hand on Hyesun and Jihoon's shoulder. "To be honest, I'm still a bit on edge because of Seungkwan's prank. I know nothing like that will happen though."

"We'll be careful, Seungcheol," Hyesun said, smiling reassuringly at him.

Seungcheol nodded and gave them the spare key in case Hyesun and Jihoon would be getting back late. He sent them off, waving them goodbye. "Good luck!"

Hyesun and Jihoon met with the facilitators waiting for them at the street.

"Sorry to keep you this late, but the last task for today is a treasure hunt," the facilitator said. "Now, please follow me, we'll be going to the venue."

Hyesun and Jihoon looked at one another and started to follow the facilitator.

"The object you need to find is something you will all be needing to get home," the facilitator said, looking over his shoulder.

Hyesun and Jihoon thought about what the item was and after a few seconds of thinking, the two had the same idea.

"Tickets," they both said.

"Huh? I didn't expect you to figure it out that quick," the facilitator said as he led them along the stonewall streets.

Nights in Yeoseodo were quiet. There was nobody out during this hour unlike in Seoul where there was always life almost everywhere one looked.

After a couple of minutes of walking, the stonewalls ended revealing a small entrance that had stone steps which led up to somewhere that had large trees looming in front of whatever that building was.

"This is the abandoned school and in one of the rooms is the treasure, or rather, since you've already figured it out, are the tickets," the facilitator explained. He handed flashlights to Hyesun and Jihoon. "You may also find other things in there, like the ones the others weren't able to find. You may take them as long as you can carry them."

Hyesun got excited upon the notion of finding other treasures. "Is there a time limit?"

"There isn't," the facilitator replied.

Hyesun and Jihoon looked at each other and nodded.

"A word of warning, just in case you see something in there, please, just ignore it," the facilitator added.

Hyesun's excitement was replaced with dread. Her smile slowly disappeared. She looked behind her, expecting to see something, but there was none. Jihoon was just quiet as he nodded. He looked calm.

"You're not serious, are you?" Hyesun said. "Until this day you're telling me ghosts exist?" She reminded herself that this was where Seungkwan and the others went. They went home fine, although Minghao mentioned that it really was dark and scary.

"Just a precaution. It is an old building after all. Abandoned for years, it is the perfect place for...other habitants," the facilitator said.

Hyesun pursed her lips as she looked around.

"You may start now. Take care," the facilitator motioned towards the stone steps.

"Alright," Hyesun said, rubbing her hands together. She turned to Jihoon. "Let's go."

The two went up the stone steps and were greeted by an unkempt front lawn. There was overgrowth everywhere and the trees loomed on both sides of the lawn intimidatingly. There were statues of different heights, probably depicting school kids.

Hyesun shone her flashlight on one of the statues and she fought down a shudder as she looked back at the grotesque stone face. "These statues sure don't look inviting."

Hyesun and Jihoon reached the main entrance of the school where two big doors stood.

Jihoon opened the door and turned to Hyesun who was busy looking at their surroundings. "You ready?"

Hyesun looked inside and she only saw darkness. "Yeah."

"Are you alright?" Jihoon asked.

"Of course I am," Hyesun replied and smirked. "What makes you think I'm not?" She turned on her flashlight and stepped inside the school.

"Hey, wait up," Jihoon said, catching up to her.

The school was pitch black, even if they shone the flashlight in front of them, there was still darkness ahead. Hyesun and Jihoon were at the lobby, deliberating where to go.

Hyesun walked around, trying to look for something. She pointed her flaslight to the wall and scanned. She found an old framed floor plan of the school, showing the layout of the building. "Look at this."

Jihoon stood next to her, studying the floor plan.

The building was simple and straightforward. There was the east and west wing, and at the moment, Hyesun and Jihoon were at the lobby where the main staircase was.

"Simple enough," Jihoon said. "There are only three levels so I think it won't take us that long to find the tickets."

"Yeah, but we don't know which room the tickets are in," Hyesun pointed out. "We're gonna have to check all rooms we pass by."

"Okay, maybe not that simple then," Jihoon said, scratching his head. "What if we split up and meet here at the staircase, then we go to the next floor, we split up and meet again? It's quicker that way."

Hyesun nodded, but the thought of going through the dark hallway sent shivers down her spine. Sure, she could go down to get herself a glass of water in the kitchen in the middle of the night but what she couldn't shake off was the facilitator's warning. Why did he have to say that? She scolded herself for being scared.

"Are you okay with that?" Jihoon asked, sensing her uncertainty. "We could—"

"Y-yeah," Hyesun quickly replied. "I'm totally fine with it." She didn't want to appear scared.

"Are you sure? We can always go together. It's fine with me," Jihoon said.

Hyesun's mind battled.

_To hell with your pride and just go with him! You'll go crazy if you go alone._

_No! You're a big girl. You can handle this!_

"Jihoon, I told you, it's fine with me," Hyesun said. She looked at her watch. "Let's meet here in about twenty minutes?"

"Sounds good to me," Jihoon said.

Hyesun chose the west wing while Jihoon chose the east wing.

***

Hyesun made her way to the west wing, her footsteps echoing through the empty hall.

The hall was painted with flowers and of images of children but the paint was already peeling. Some of it had even began to fade. All the while she was walking, she was humming a song that her little twin brothers, Haneul and Haru, loved to sing. It made her feel better even at the slightest.

Hyesun reached the very first room. She turned the doorknob but it was locked. She tried to put her weight against the door but it still wouldn't open. She peeped through the windows but nothing was in there except desks and empty shelves.

The next few rooms along the hallway were also locked. Hyesun didn't spend much time on them and proceeded to go to the end of the hall.

"Last room in the west wing," Hyesun said to herself as she walked towards the last room.

As she drew closer, she heard a sound coming from the room.

What the hell is that, she thought, coming to a halt. She shone her flashlight to the slightly open door of the room. She took another step towards the door and stood there for a moment, deliberating what to do next.

The sound of a music box played loudly in the quiet hallway and it didn't do any good to Hyesun. Despite the song being a nursery rhyme, it made her tense.

She placed a hand on the door handle. _This is not a good idea, but it's too late to go back now_. She breathed in gathered her strength. _Let's get this over with._

Hyesun pushed the door open and stepped inside the room. Like the hallway, the room was dark. The music box played much louder now. The room was empty and after a few seconds of inspecting the area, Hyesun's attention was drawn to the box on the teacher's table.

Her curiosity won her over more than fear so she made her way to the table and opened the box.

Inside were two packs of her favorite yogurt drink. Hyesun was overjoyed that she began to do a celebratory dance on her own and all fear she felt on her way to the classroom had disappeared.

"Oh, yogurt, I love you," Hyesun sang as she took the yogurt. She even spun around as she made her way out of the room.

 _Maybe you should thank the facilitator for choosing you for this task_ , Hyesun said to herself.

She walked down the dark hallway again, but this time, there was a spring in her step. She knew they didn't need the yogurt, but she was still happy that she found them. She only hoped that Jihoon found something.

From a distance, Hyesun saw Jihoon sitting at the base of the staircase and she was happy upon seeing him. Her footsteps quickened and she called out to him. "Jihoon! Jihoon!"

Jihoon stood up and went to her, a smile was on his face. He hugged her: a gesture that Hyesun didn't expect but nevertheless, made her heartrate double.

"Did you find the tickets?" he asked as he pulled away.

"No," Hyesun said, and smiled widely. "But I found this." She showed him the yogurt and laughed.

Her laughter was infectious that Jihoon couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Where did you find them?" Jihoon asked.

"They're in the classroom at the end of the hall," she replied. "What about you?"

Jihoon shook his head. "I found nothing. All rooms were locked." He looked over at Hyesun who still seemed to be happy at what she found. He was glad she was fine now. "Do you want to rest for a bit?"

"No need! Let's finish this task quickly so we could go home," Hyesun said with energy.

The two went up to the second floor and just like what they did in the ground floor, they parted ways to make the search quick. But right before parting, Jihoon once again asked her if she would be alright to go alone. Hyesun convinced him she was fine. Well, she did look better than when they first entered the school.

They parted ways and after a few minutes, Hyesun was the one who arrived at the stairwell first. All the rooms were locked and there were no music boxes playing.

Hyesun looked at the packs of yogurt on her lap and the temptation to open one was strong but she wanted to share it with everyone else back at the house. She looked at her watch. Jihoon was ten minutes late.

 _He's been gone for half an hour. Maybe he found something?_ Hyesun told herself. _But it's taking too long._ Hyesun began to worry. She stood up from her seat and made her way quickly to where Jihoon was.

She found Jihoon standing in the middle of the hallway, his back facing her. "Jihoon, everything al—What. Is. That."

Jihoon looked at her over his shoulder and turned his attention back to whatever he was looking at before.

Hyesun stood beside him and heard the sound of the music box again. But right beside the door of the room stood a person, or whatever it was, someone dressed in white flowy cloth. The person's head was hung low, jet black hair covering the face.

Hyesun thought back to her journey alone a while ago. If she encountered this person, which she was sure was one of the facilitators, she would've ran back screaming. She understood why Jihoon was frozen. She felt nervous too.

"The music box," Hyesun said, keeping her eyes on the person by the door. "There was also one in the room I went in a while ago. E-except for this person."

Jihoon nodded, gathering his courage. "I'll go inside." He stepped forward but stopped when Hyesun called him.

" _Yah_ , you're leaving me here?" Hyesun whined.

"I thought you didn't want to go in."

"You think I want to be left alone? With _this?_ " Hyesun said, motioning to the creepy person in white.

Jihoon motioned for her to approach. "Okay. Come here."

The two shared a look before Jihoon opened the door. They went inside and the first thing they saw was the candle-lit table at the front of the classroom. Hyesun and Jihoon stepped inside the room and approached the table.

On the table was a thick envelope.

Jihoon reached for it and checked the contents. "These are the tickets. All fourteen of them."

Hyesun noticed movement at the corner of her eye. She turned and saw that the creepy person had walked inside the classroom and was now standing beside them. "That's great, but, uh, Jihoon?"

Jihoon closed the envelope and placed it in his coat pocket. He looked up and saw their dilemma. "Wow, you're really not gonna let us off easy, huh?" He took Hyesun's hand and stepped back. As he did so, the person turned to them.

Hyesun and Jihoon took another step back, and the creepy person took one step towards them.

"Come on, cut us some slack," Hyesun said, trying to reason out with the creepy person. "We already got the tickets. What more do you want?"

The person didn't give them any response.

Hyesun stepped forward and poked the person’s shoulder. “Okay, it’s a real person.” She knew it was a real person, but she couldn’t fight the urge to do that in the hopes of getting the person to snap out of the whole charade.

The two of them kept taking steps backward until they're out of the room.

The person in white stood in front of them while the dark hallway stretched behind them.

Jihoon let go of Hyesun's hand and looked at her. "Let's run."


	20. Heart Matters

“Can we go to the seawall?” Hyesun asked, breaking the silence.

The two were on their way home from the abandoned school when Hyesun suddenly thought of having a detour.

“I mean, only if it’s alright with you,” she added, looking at Jihoon for permission.

“I don’t really mind,” Jihoon replied.

They took a different route and after a few moments, the sea could be seen, sparkling under the moonlight. Yeoseodo was still, and they were the only ones out at the moment.

“Over here,” Jihoon called as he found a place and sat down.

Hyesun joined him and the two spent the first few moments gazing at the open sea. She took two bottles of yogurt and handed one to Jihoon. “I’m guessing Seungkwan and the others didn’t enter the room these were in.”

Upon the mention of Seungkwan, Jihoon smiled and shook his head. “A lot of things happened in a span of a few days.”

Hyesun nodded. “That’s true. On the first day, I actually had thoughts of going home when I saw all thirteen of you arrive.”

“I understand,” Jihoon said. “We’re overwhelming.”

“But now, it feels like I’ve known you guys for so long.”

“And?”

“And I don’t regret joining the last batch for this trip,” Hyesun admitted. “I’m not saying this to make you feel good or anything, but that’s the truth. I really had fun.”

“I’m glad that you did,” Jihoon said. “Best trip I’ve ever been so far.”

“Same,” Hyesun agreed. “I’ve gotten used to spending my days doing chores with thirteen boys.”

“Our everyday life.”

“It’s just so peaceful here. You don’t get to live like this in Seoul. When we return, we’re all going to go back to regular programming. We might have a short break, but it’s academics again soon after that.”

Jihoon nodded and looked at her. “You, Seungcheol-hyung, Jeonghan-hyung, and Joshua-hyung will all be busy with your theses.”

Hyesun closed her eyes and massaged her temples. “Oh, don’t remind me. I can already feel the stress for the coming months.”

“You can do it,” he encouraged. “You’re hardworking and smart. I’m sure you’ll pass and graduate with honors.”

Hyesun smiled. “You really think so?”

“I know so,” Jihoon said. “Listen, after you and the hyungs graduate, why don’t you come to Busan? I’ll show you around and we could spend the week together with everyone.”

“Busan? That sounds great,” Hyesun said, getting excited at all the plans they’re making that night. “I’ve only been there once, but that was a long time ago.”

“It’s a promise, okay?” Jihoon said, holding out his pinky finger. “After your graduation, you’ll go to Busan.”

“I promise,” Hyesun said, linking her pinky finger to Jihoon’s.

Jihoon smiled contentedly. He finished his drink and set down the bottle. “Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?” Hyesun said, turning to him.

“When we were at the village hall, who did you kiss that night?” Jihoon asked.

Hyesun’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe her ears. _Is he seriously asking me this?_ She focused her gaze on the sea and tried to think of ways to veer away from the question but nothing was coming to mind.

She knew that her interactions with Jihoon were not in the same level as her interactions with Seungkwan, Hansol, and Chan. Even her interactions with Joshua were far different from those with Jihoon.

 _You don’t hug Seungkwan, Hansol, Chan, or even Joshua as much as you hug Jihoon,_ her thoughts pointed out.

She started to notice that whenever they’re talking to one another, both of them tend to be very honest. Like what happened earlier, Jihoon told her everything about the bet they had lost. He also admitted that he missed her, and, in turn, she also admitted the same. There definitely was something between them but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to divulge on the details of what happened that night.

 _Just tell him_ , she thought. _No harm in telling. At least you’re honest._

Hyesun sighed. She avoided his gaze by staring into the ocean. “You already know the answer to that.”

“I…I just want to be sure,” Jihoon said softly. “I want to hear it from you. Please.”

Hyesun closed her eyes. _He’s really making things difficult,_ she thought. That night, Hyesun already had the impression that Jihoon knew—judging by the way he avoided her gaze a couple of times. Like what Jihoon said, he just wanted to be sure…

A lot of thoughts were racing in her head that she finally decided to give Jihoon the answer he wanted.

“It’s you, you dork,” Hyesun admitted, poking Jihoon on the cheek.

Jihoon stared back at her. His mouth opened slightly but no words came out. He blinked a few times and after a few moments, he seemed to have regained his composure. “Do you really…you mean you…?”

Hyesun looked at Jihoon and the look of disbelief on his face was way too adorable. She decided to go on. “Seungcheol’s dare was to kiss the person I like. So I did.”

Jihoon looked like he didn’t know what to do. He fumbled with his hands a lot until he finally willed himself to calm down. He held up a finger and pointed to himself. “Me?”

Hyesun really found Jihoon’s confused and speechless state to be really cute and she tried hard not to laugh. _This boy is so precious,_ she thought. “Yes, you, Lee Jihoon. You’re kind, thoughtful, and smart. I feel better when you’re around.”

A smile started to form on Jihoon’s lips and soon, he was smiling widely. He covered his face with his hands and there was soft muffled laughter. “Oh, what did I do to deserve this?” He was still smiling when he turned to Hyesun. “I…I want to say this properly. I just want you to know that I really do enjoy being with you, and I want to see you…even after this trip.”

It was Hyesun’s turn to break into a smile. Her cheeks felt hot and she covered her mouth with her hand. "Lee Jihoon.” She looked back at him and her heart was pounding. "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" Jihoon asked.

"Like that! I might end up getting a heart attack!" she cried. This boy was going to be the end of her.

"Then you should stop looking at me too!” Jihoon said this time. “One of us might not make it back to Seoul."

Hyesun poked Jihoon’s cheek again. "Hey, don't say that. I'll be really sad if you won’t make it."

Jihoon laughed, all tension was gone now. He was back to his usual state, but now, he was a thousand times happier than before. He reached for Hyesun’s hand and laced his fingers with her. "Fine. What do you want to do once we get back to Seoul?"

"I want to have a Christmas party with everyone," Hyesun replied.

Jihoon nodded, looking at their hands as he patiently listened to her.

"We can also go out for coffee or movies," she said. "But...When are you leaving for Busan?"

"Oh, right," Jihoon said, remembering he was to go home for the break. "I'll be going home on the 22nd. I'll be back after the New Year."

Hyesun nodded. "That's okay. We can reschedule next semester. But…I’ll be busy by then."

“I understand,” he said, pulling her closer to him. “Your thesis is your topmost priority. Not me.”

Hyesun looked at him and thanked the heavens for Jihoon being so understanding. “Thanks, Jihoon.”

Jihoon smiled back at her. “But our Busan trip’s still on after your graduation, okay?”

***

Joshua heard footsteps at the front porch making him look at the door.

“Oh, I think they’ve arrived,” Jeonghan said, looking up from his spot at the kitchen where he sat with Seungcheol and Joshua.

“I’ll get it,” Seungcheol said, getting up. He walked to the door and opened it. He smiled upon seeing Hyesun and Jihoon. “How was the task?”

Hyesun and Jihoon shared a smile and showed Seungcheol what they got.

“Tickets and yogurt,” Seungcheol said as he looked at the items. He ruffled Hyesun and Jihoon’s hair and slung an arm on each of their shoulders. “I knew you’d succeed.”

Hyesun brought the yogurt to Joshua and Jeonghan. “I found this in one of the classrooms. You guys might want to have some.”

Joshua began to politely decline. “Thank you, but this is your favorite, right? Why don’t you—“

“Thank you, Hyesun,” Jeonghan said, obviously delighted at the sight of the drink. “Joshua and I will take one each.”

“Okay, here you go,” Hyesun said, taking out two bottles for Joshua and Jeonghan. She went back to Jihoon who was still talking to Seungcheol.

“Good job, you two,” Seungcheol said to Jihoon and Hyesun. “Now go and get some rest. We’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

Hyesun and Jihoon bid Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Jisoo good night before proceeding to their respective rooms.

Joshua watched as Jihoon and Hyesun bid each other good night. Hyesun spoke, making Jihoon look at her and place a hand at the small of her back. The two shared a smile and Joshua was about to look away when he saw Jihoon take Hyesun’s hand in his.

 _Look away, Joshua_ , Joshua told himself.

Finally, the two parted and went to separate rooms.

Seungcheol sighed. “Look at them. I’ve never seen Jihoon so happy.”

Jeonghan only nodded, while Joshua stayed silent.

After a while, Seungcheol got up.

“Aren’t you two going to bed?” Seungcheol asked.

Jeonghan quickly glanced at Joshua before turning to Seungcheol. “We’re finishing the drink Hyesun gave us. We won’t be long.”

“Alright,” Seungcheol said and went inside one room to retire for the night.

Once Jeonghan and Joshua were the only ones at the kitchen, Jeonghan finished his drink in one go and turned to face Joshua.

“So what are you going to do now?” Jeonghan asked out of the blue.

Joshua looked back at Jeonghan in surprise. Jeonghan asked the exact question that was in Joshua’s head ever since he saw how Hyesun and Jihoon were towards each other. He rested his forehead on his hands and sighed. “I’m still figuring it out.”

Jeonghan placed a hand on Joshua’s shoulder. He couldn’t remember the last time Joshua had been heartbroken. Maybe this was the first time he’d seen his friend like this: expressionless, but he knew there was a storm raging deep inside. “Shua, listen to me. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that things don’t always work the way you want them to.”

Joshua breathed in and nodded. “I know. Don’t worry about me.” He put on his best smile but it pained Jeonghan to see him fighting through the hurt.

“I’m happy for both Hyesun and Jihoon, honestly,” Joshua said. “It’s over and that’s…that’s actually good for me. At least I now know where I stand.” He stood up abruptly and was about to turn around but Jeonghan caught his arm.

“Give yourself a deadline, Joshua. Or else it will be harder to let go later on,” Jeonghan said, gripping Joshua’s arm.

“I will, Jeonghan,” Joshua said with a tired but reassuring smile. “You know me, I can sort this out.”

Jeonghan let go of Joshua. “You know that you can talk to me anytime, right?”

“I know that,” Joshua replied. “Once this trip ends, I’ll let go. And I’ll be fine. My relationship with Jihoon won’t change, if that’s what you’re worried about. He is still an important friend to me.”

“Alright,” Jeonghan said, feeling relieved as he let go of Joshua and watched as the latter went inside one of the rooms.

Jeonghan disposed the bottles and soon went to one room.

 _This island’s making a mess out of everyone,_ Jeonghan thought before drifting off.


	21. Pre-Departure Activities - Part 1

For the first time ever since they arrived, Hyesun was surprised to see that Seungkwan was up earlier than her. He had already folded away his bedding while Hansol, and Chan were still fast asleep.

"Good morning, noona," Seungkwan greeted cheerfully, waving from the other side of the room where he was folding his clothes.

"Morning, Seungkwan. Why are you up so early?" Hyesun asked. She looked at the wall clock and it was just seven in the morning. She got up and began to fold her bedding.

"I don't know. Ever since I woke up at six, I couldn't go back to sleep again," Seungkwan replied. "The hyungs are in the kitchen. Seungcheol-hyung said you and Jihoon-hyung could  wake up a little later than everyone else because you did a task last night."

"What was the task, noona?" Seungkwan inquired.

At that moment, Chan and Hansol stirred and it didn't take long for the two to wake up.

"Noona," Chan said in a soft voice. "What time did you get back?"

"Around midnight," she answered.

"What did you do?" Hansol joined the inquiry.

"Well, Jihoon and I went to that abandoned school for a treasure hunt," Hyesun replied. "We needed to find our tickets for the boat ride home."

The three younger boys looked at her and waited.

"Of course, we found it," Hyesun said, making all three of them sigh in relief.

By seven thirty, Hyesun was dressed up and had already finished fixing her things. She brought out her luggage to the kitchen where most of the boys were having the yogurt for breakfast.

"Morning, noona," Minghao said brightly as he handed her a yogurt bottle.

"Thank you," Hyesun said and opened the bottle. She surveyed the people there and found that only Jihoon wasn't there. "Do you know what time we're leaving?"

"Facilitators said they expect us to be at the docks by nine," Wonwoo answered.

"Right, thanks," she said and finished the bottle quickly. She took another one with her and went to the room where Jihoon was staying at.

Hyesun pushed the door open and found Jihoon still fast asleep. In the tidy, almost empty room, his bed was right next to the wall.

The door of the room opened and Jeonghan stepped inside, his body halfway through the doorway.

"Hyesun, kindly wake up Jihoon now, he might not have enough later if he's still asleep," Jeonghan said.

"I was about to," Hyesun said.

Jeonghan nodded and closed the door.

Hyesun sat down beside Jihoon's bed. She looked at him for a moment, memorizing the peaceful state he was in at the moment. She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently awake. "Jihoon. Jihoon. Time to get up."

Jihoon was facing the wall but then he turned, lying on his side facing Hyesun. He was still asleep though.

"Jihoon," Hyesun tried again, poking him on the cheek. "Jihoon. Wake up. Come on."

Jihoon wrinkled his nose and soon opened his eyes.

Hyesun smiled. "Good morning."

Jihoon's expression was blank but he slowly reached out a hand and touched Hyesun's cheek with his fingertips. A small smile played on his lips.

"Do you know what time it is?" she said.

Jihoon sat up but he was obviously still sleepy. He rested his head on Hyesun's shoulder. "Is it time for morning cuddles?" His voice was raspy but Hyesun caught slight hints of Jihoon trying to sound cute.

"Morning cuddles?" Hyesun repeated, while trying to still her heart. _Song Hyesun, college senior, found dead in a house on top of a hill in Yeoseodo. Cause of death: Lee Jihoon acting cute in the morning._

"A few more minutes," Jihoon whined.

Hyesun couldn't say no so she let him take his time. She combed his hair with her fingers. She checked her watch and the five minutes that Jihoon requested came to an end. "Come on, everyone's re—"

Junhui stepped inside the room, only then realizing that he had walked in on the two. Hyesun turned to look at him and Jihoon seemed to be fully awake at the moment as well.

"Oh...I'm sorry," Junhui said, smiling shyly. He pointed to a bag in the room and made other awkward gestures. "I'm...uh, I was just—you know—um, getting my things...but—"

Junhui backed away but he hit the wall, missing the door. He fumbled for the doorknob. "I—I'll get it later." He quickly shut the door.

Hyesun and Jihoon laughed. Hyesun stood up, pulling Jihoon with her, reminding him to get going.

Jihoon wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight.

Hyesun made a mental note of the moment: despite Jihoon being known among his friends as not being a fan of physical contact, this sleepy morning Jihoon holding her then, on the contrary, liked hugs and cuddles.

"Morning hug, complete," Jihoon said and pulled away from her. He had a bright smile on his face.

"I'll see you in a while," Hyesun said, leaving the room. She saw Junhui at the kitchen. "Jun, you can get your things now."

***

The fourteen gathered at the front yard, drinking the last few bottles of yogurt.

The feeling of just standing in the front yard and not doing anything there felt so foreign to them. The past few days, by this time, all of them would be busy preparing breakfast and planning for their next meal. But now, they just gathered round and soaked in their final moments with the house that had become their home.

"Seungcheol, give us a speech," Jeonghan teased. He was immediately backed up by Seungkwan and Soonyoung who wanted the same thing.

Everyone clapped for Seungcheol.

Seungcheol raised his hands to silence them like a presidential candidate would with his supporters but after a few seconds, he turned shy. Then, when the applause faded, he turned serious. "When we first arrived here, all I wanted to do was to hop on the boat and go back."

Everyone nodded, agreeing with Seungcheol.

"We didn't know what to expect when we alighted from that boat," Seungcheol continued. "For the first time in our lives, we worried about what to eat. It's really been difficult for us, but everyone worked hard. A couple of days ago, I told myself that when our last day comes, I'd be so happy." He paused and looked at the house.

"Today's our last day here, but it seems like I've grown attached to this house," Seungcheol went on. He looked at the facilitators waiting for them at the gate of the front yard. "We want to thank you, our facilitators. We know you didn't want it to be easy for us, and we accept that. Thank you for the hardships, we learned and grew so much as a group over the past few days. We'll never forget all the lessons here."

Seungcheol turned to the facilitators and motioned for everyone to follow his lead. All of them bowed to the facilitators.

The fourteen straightened up and clapped. They all shared the same sentiments with Seungcheol.

"And to all of you," Seungcheol said to his companions. "I want to say that I'm very proud of everyone. We all did our best. We enjoyed our time here, didn't we?"

"We did!" Seungkwan and Soonyoung led the cheer.

"We showed them that we lived well," Seungcheol said. "And we will continue to do so even when we get back to Seoul."

Jeonghan sighed and looked at the house. "We made good memories here."

"We sure did," Wonwoo agreed.

"Group hug!" Seokmin initiated and all of them went in a big warm embrace.

The fourteen, with their luggage in tow, went out of the gate of the front yard one by one, sparing one last look at their beloved house.

"Goodbye, my lovely garden. Goodbye, my babies," Wonwoo said, sadly bidding his tangerines goodbye.

"Hyung, if you truly love those tangerines, you'll let them go," Seungkwan said, ushering Wonwoo out.

***

"Finally! We're going home!" Seungkwan cheered as the fourteen of them approached the docks where Professor Kang and three facilitators stood.

Behind the four, the fourteen could see the boat that would be taking them home in a few moments. Professor Kang smiled at them warmly as they all stood in a line.

"Ready to go home?" Professor Kang asked. There was a mischievous look in her eyes.

"Yes, professor!" all fourteen kids energetically replied.

"Really? That's good, but— _Yah,_ why are you all looking at me like that?" Professor Kang noticed the wincing expressions of her students. They knew something was up. "Let me finish okay? We have one final activity for you. One last game before you go back to Seoul."

Seungkwan looked like he was ready to go on a rampage. " _Jinjja._ Up to the last second we're getting surprises. What is it this time?"

The facilitators brought out green and orange shirts.

The fourteen groaned at the sight of the shirts being passed to them.

"For once, can't we just leave in peace?" Junhui jokingly said but it was obvious that he just wanted to go home. "Come on, _just once?_ "

"Green team, please stand over here," one facilitator said, motioning for the kids in green shirts to stand together. "Orange team, please stand on the other side, thank you."

Name tags were brought out next and attached to the back of the shirts.

"Green team, orange team," one facilitator spoke. "As you can see, at the back of your shirts are nametags. The team who removes all the name tags of the other team will be declared as the winner."

On the green team were Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Jisoo, Jihoon, Wonwoo, Minghao, and Seokmin.

While on the orange team were Hyesun, Junhui, Mingyu, Soonyoung, Seungkwan, Hansol, and Chan.

The two teams were given a couple of minutes to strategize.

The orange team walked far from the green team to come up with a plan.

"I don't feel so good," Seungkwan said. "The hyungs are going to kill us."

"Don't be so negative," Junhui said, spreading positivity once again. "We can do this!"

"I can hide in this truck," Soonyoung said, tapping the truck beside him. "They'll think that they've won but surprise, out comes Soonyoung and eats them all."

"Hyung, are you sure about that?" Chan asked.

Mingyu led the planning. He and Junhui would most likely be the ones attacking the others. Seungkwan, Chan, Hansol, and Hyesun were advised to just be quick and alert.

"When you see an opening, you attack immediately," Junhui advised. "Rip off their tags."

"Noona," Mingyu said. "Can you run?"

"A bit, yeah," Hyesun replied. "What's the plan?"

"We're planning for a combo attack," Junhui explained. "You lure them in while we get them from behind."

Hyesun wasn't sure how all of this would play out so she just agreed. "Sounds like a plan."

Over at Seungcheol's team, they began profiling the members of the orange team, deliberating who to eliminate first.

"We can take out the easy ones first. Seungkwan and Hansol," Seungcheol said, eyeing the two boys from afar. "But watch out for Junhui and Mingyu."

"I'll take care of Chan," Jeonghan said.

Seungcheol nodded. "Okay. What about Hyesun?"

"These two," Jeonghan said, motioning to Jihoon and Joshua. "You decide among yourselves who's gonna do it."

Jihoon and Joshua looked at each other in confusion.

The time to strategize had come to an end and it was time to start the game.

"Orange team, are you ready?" the facilitator called.

"Ready!" the orange team shouted.

"Green team, are you ready?"

"Ready!" the green team replied.

"START!"

Hyesun tied her hair up and stretched her arms. She saw that the green team was slowly approaching them.

 _Who will I try to eliminate? Seungcheol? Jeonghan?_ she thought, but it seemed impossible since those two always had each other's backs.

Sure, she didn't know how this game would turn out, but there was only one thing she knew: she didn't want to lose.

Soonyoung was safe hiding in the truck. Seungkwan, Hansol, and Chan were at the front. Mingyu, Hyesun, and Junhui were at the back.

"Hyung! Go easy on us!" Seungkwan called out to Seungcheol.

"Don't worry! We won't be rough," Seungcheol assured.

In a burst of courage, Chan led the charge towards the green team, heading straight for Jeonghan, tackling the older boy.

Seungkwan and Hansol joined Chan in attacking Jeonghan, but Jihoon and Joshua came to Jeonghan's aid. Jeonghan got up, unscathed.

"I'm alive," Jeonghan cheered, dusting himself off.

Seungcheol was alone. Mingyu, Chan, Junhui, and Hyesun surrounded him. Mingyu and Junhui were about to grab Seungcheol when reinforcements from the green team arrived.

Hyesun watched as the struggle of finding a target then losing it continued. She jogged around, looking out for potential attackers but everyone else seemed preoccupied holding the opponent off.

Her eyes scanned the surroundings and found a busy-looking Wonwoo who was wrestling with a whining Seungkwan.

This was her chance. She ran to Wonwoo and reached for his tag. In one quick and forceful move, she yanked out his tag.

"Jeon Wonwoo, out!" the facilitator said, raising a flag.

Wonwoo turned around and saw Hyesun holding his tag. Hyesun thought he was going to be mad at her but he grinned.

"Thanks," Wonwoo said. "I wanted to rest already."

"Noona!" Seungkwan cheered, running to her and slinging an arm around her shoulder.

The rest of the orange team surrounded her and commended her while the green team watched. Jihoon looked impressed but tried his best not to show it since his teammates were staring down at her.

"Hyesun, I didn't expect that," Jeonghan said.

Junhui stepped beside Hyesun and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Be careful. You've just made yourself a target now."

"One down, six to go," Mingyu said.


	22. Pre-Departure Activities - Part 2

The game continued.

Minghao and Jihoon caught Chan. The youngest boy was struggling to break free. 

Seungkwan came to the rescue. He didn't remove Jihoon or Minghao's tags. He only pushed Jihoon, making Jihoon step back.

Jihoon looked at Seungkwan, his eyes saying 'how dare you', and began to chase the younger boy.

"I've awakened the beast!" Seungkwan screamed as Jihoon chased him down.

Minghao's hold on Chan was tight despite Chan trying to wriggle out of Minghao's grasp.

Jeonghan calmly walked to them. He had a gentle smile on his face. "I'm sorry, my baby." He successfully ripped off Chan's tag.

"Lee Chan, out!"

One point for the green team thanks to Jeonghan. Chan stood beside Professor Kang and sat down.

Jihoon let Seungkwan go, but it was just Seungkwan's rotten luck that he got caught by Seungcheol himself. Both boys fell to the ground, Seungcheol successfully tackling Seungkwan.

Seungkwan screamed, trying to get away but Seungcheol was too strong. " _Aigoo_. Boo Seungkwan just wants to go home, yet here he is, being man-handled by his hyung."

" _Yah_ , I'm not man-handling you, I'm going easy on you," Seungcheol said in a kind voice, right before ripping off Seungkwan's tag.

"Boo Seungkwan, out!"

Seungkwan lay on the ground, stunned that he was out of the game.

Soonyoung was safely hiding in the truck nearby but Hansol, Junhui, Mingyu, and Hyesun were the only ones left. The four stood together as the six-man team of Seungcheol circled them.

"You two, take Hyesun out," Jeonghan ordered Jihoon and Joshua. "If you don't, I will."

Seungcheol's team closed in on Hyesun's team, making them disperse.

Seungcheol and Minghao went for Hansol. Hansol fell to the ground. Seungcheol and Minghao held him down.

"Give up, Hansol," Seungcheol said.

"Never," Hansol resisted.

"Goodbye, Hansol," Jeonghan knelt down.

Hyesun saw the opportunity and ran to Minghao, who was busily holding Hansol down. She had her hand on Minghao's tag but Minghao saw her.

Minghao tried to grab her but she drew back her hand immediately and retreated.

"Choi Hansol, out!"

While Hyesun was retreating, she bumped against Joshua. She lost her footing and fell down.

Joshua knelt beside her and for a moment, she thought he was going to take her tag.

"No," Hyesun said, swatting Joshua's hand away.

"Don't worry, I won't take your tag," Joshua said. He only took her by the arm and helped her up.

Hyesun didn't expect that. She suddenly wished she didn't snap at him. "Oh...I'm sorry. Thank you, Joshua."

Joshua only smiled and nodded then he went to his team while Hyesun joined her remaining comrades on field, Mingyu and Junhui.

Hyesun stood in between Mingyu and Junhui. The three eyed Seungcheol's team of Jeonghan, Jihoon, Joshua, Minghao and Seokmin who circled them.

Mingyu turned aggressive and went for Joshua. He grabbed Joshua's collar, but Jihoon went in. Junhui tried to get Jihoon off of Mingyu, while Hyesun resisted being eliminated by Jeonghan.

While Junhui was fending off Seokmin from Mingyu, Seungcheol came for him and the two boys wrestled on the ground. Seungcheol removed Junhui's tag.

"Wen Junhui, out!"

Hyesun went to Junhui and helped him to his feet and they watched as a miracle happen right before their eyes.

Mingyu was surrounded by Seokmin, Joshua, Jihoon, and Minghao. The four boys tackled Mingyu but the tall boy stood his ground and held off the four boys on his own. His hands were full, but Mingyu managed to take off Joshua's tag in one quick yank.

"Hong Joshua, out!"

Seokmin and Jihoon tried to get Mingyu's tag but the tall boy acted first, exerting all his efforts just so his team could win. Mingyu held off Seokmin on his left while fending off Jihoon with his right. Mingyu displayed superhuman skill as he ripped off Seokmin's tag and quickly removed Jihoon's as well.

"Lee Seokmin and Lee Jihoon, you're out!"

Hyesun and Junhui looked at one another and back at Mingyu, who managed to take down three people at once. Those still in the game, those who were eliminated, even Professor Kang and the facilitators were on edge as they watched the events unfold.

Mingyu, although evidently tired, moved to Minghao and secured his fourth kill.

"Xu Minghao, out!"

Just as Mingyu had eliminated Minghao, Seungcheol and Jeonghan went for him. Mingyu couldn't hold them off anymore, the four straight kills took a toll on him and his tag was soon removed by Seungcheol.

Mingyu sat on the ground, panting.

There was a moment of silence before the facilitator announced Mingyu's elimination. Everyone was stunned at how wonderful, yet tragic, things had turned out. The strong defense and fighting spirit Mingyu showed moments ago would forever be remembered.

"Kim Mingyu, out!"

Seungcheol and Jeonghan hugged each other, thinking that they won. They faced their teammates, with victorious smiles on their faces. The two had forgotten that Hyesun was still in the game.

Junhui was the first to notice this, as he turned to Hyesun with a confused look on his face.

"Don't celebrate yet," Chan called out, making Seungcheol and Jeonghan turn to his direction.

"Who's not here?" Jeonghan asked, looking at each and every member of the orange team.

Hyesun prayed for Jeonghan not to notice her. She saw him look at her but he didn't pay much attention to her. That was close, she thought.

"Soonyoung," Seungcheol said and began to hunt for the said boy. "Soonyoung! Come out!"

" _Annyeong!_ " Soonyoung greeted as he emerged from the truck and began to jog backwards as his two hyungs approached him.

"It's over, Soonyoung, give the victory to us," Seungcheol said, beckoning for Soonyoung to come closer.

"They forgot about you?" Junhui whispered to Hyesun.

She looked at Junhui and nodded. This was her chance to win. Hyesun removed her hair tie and let her long hair cover the tag on her back so nobody would notice.

Junhui saw what she was doing. He reached out and pretended to comb her hair but in reality, he was making sure that her locks covered the tag well.

There was nothing Soonyoung could do against Seungcheol and Jeonghan and it didn't take long before Soonyoung was ambushed and eliminated.

"Kwon Soonyoung, out!"

The green team began to cheer, celebrating their victory. The orange team looked down, but their sadness lasted only for a moment as they realized they still had Hyesun in the game. Mingyu looked at her and nodded.

The green team, thinking that they won, approached the cooler with drinks just a few feet away from where Junhui and Hyesun were. Junhui offered Hyesun a drink and in turn, Hyesun pretended that she wasn't planning to do anything.

"Seungcheol, Jeonghan!" Hyesun called. When the two boys approached her, she gave them drinks.

Hyesun's eliminated teammates each went to one member of the green team, chatting them up so they wouldn't notice anything.

The boys began to sit on the ground and enjoy their drinks while Hyesun remained standing, looking for the right timing.

 _One wrong move, they'll notice_ , she told herself.

Seungcheol and Jeonghan sat down by the cooler, enjoying their drinks while Hyesun made her way to them, standing behind the two boys.

"Orange juice tastes so good after you win," Seungcheol said, drinking contentedly.

"I know right? I wonder if there's a prize for the winning team," Jeonghan said. Just like Seungcheol, he was oblivious to Hyesun's presence behind them.

"Professor Kang?" Seungcheol called, raising his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Choi?" Professor Kang patiently answered.

"What's our prize?" Seungcheol asked.

"I've yet to announce it, Mr. Choi," Professor Kang replied. "Because the game's not over."

Seungcheol and Jeonghan shared confused looks.

"We're not the winners?" Seungcheol questioned.

"No, hyung. You didn't win!" Seungkwan laughed.

"Stop being sore losers and accept your defeat!" Jeonghan shouted.

"Why would we accept defeat when we haven't even lost yet?" Chan confidently said.

"You're saying it isn't over?" Seokmin asked, turning to Chan.

Realization dawned on Seokmin a second too late and he could only watch in horror as Hyesun rolled up her sleeves, about to rip off Seungcheol and Jeonghan's tags.

"HYUNG! HYUNG! WATCH OUT!" Seokmin screamed.

Hyesun's hands found the tags and ripped them off of Seungcheol and Jeonghan's backs.

The sound of the velcro being ripped was so crisp and loud, Hyesun found it satisfying.

Loud cheers erupted from the orange team.

"What the..." Seungcheol said, stunned as he watched Hyesun join her team holding his and Jeonghan's tags in her hands.

"Choi Seungcheol, Yoon Jeonghan, you're out!" the facilitator announced. "Victory to the orange team!"

The orange team cheered, crowding around Hyesun. Seungkwan, Hansol, Chan, and Soonyoung hugged her. After that, Mingyu and Junhui carried her on their arms and paraded her around.

The green team clapped for the orange team's victory, still amazed at how things turned out.

"How?" Jeonghan asked, his eyebrows knitted together.

Mingyu and Junhui set Hyesun down. Seungkwan made Hyesun turn around and he pushed Hyesun's hair to the side, while Chan motioned to it, showing her pristine tag: a clear sign that she was still in the game.

Jihoon was amused. He walked to Hyesun and ruffled her hair. "Smart move."

Joshua clapped and nodded, also proud of Hyesun.

Seungcheol had finally come to terms with their loss and shook hands with Hyesun. "That's actually very clever, Hyesun."

Professor Kang stepped forward and spoke once the fourteen had settled down. "Now, I will announce the prize for the winning team and that is you may request us anything."

Everyone went wide-eyed, knowing this was their chance to make demands.

For the first few seconds, only the members of the orange team discussed, but after a while, they decided to include green team in their deliberation as well.

There were a lot of requests like grocery shopping again, some cola, chicken, and whatnot.

"But seriously," Hyesun spoke, silencing the boys. "Do we really, really want any of those right now?"

Hyesun's question made all thirteen boys think carefully.

Mingyu raised his hand to speak. "I just want to go home to my family."

Hansol and Seungkwan nodded.

"I'm contented with what we have right now," Junhui said, earning nods. "I'm just happy that we're all going to go home now with good memories."

The rest shared the same sentiments.

The fourteen agreed and formed a line in front of Professor Kang.

The boys motioned for Hyesun and Mingyu to be the ones to speak for them.

"Have you and your team come to a decision, Ms. Song and Mr. Kim?" Professor Kang asked.

"Yes, professor," Hyesun answered. "But it's not just my team's decision. It's both teams'."

"I see," Professor Kang said, impressed at the fourteen's solidarity. "Proceed."

Hyesun looked at Mingyu and he nodded at her encouragingly. "Well, professor, for the past few days, there were times when we argued a lot, but we also learned to be considerate of each other."

"We learned to be grateful for the small things," Hyesun continued. "A clean room, a big catch, good food with good company." She nodded, giving Mingyu the signal to say his part.

"It's almost as if we don't want to leave," Mingyu said.

"Mingyu's the only one who thinks that, not us," Seungkwan called, cupping his hands over his mouth.

Mingyu broke into a grin and shook his head. "Going back to what I was saying. We did things we don't normally do in Seoul and this trip's been a great opportunity but we need to go back home now to our families who are waiting for us."

"Professor, you might think that since it's Christmas, we'd be wanting something from you, but right now, we don't want anything at all," Hyesun finished. "We're happy with what we have."

Professor Kang was smiling as she listened to her students, her heart was swelling with pride. "Very well. Now, let's—"

"Professor, I have a question," Seungkwan said, raising his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Boo?" Professor Kang said.

"No more activities like this one, right? No more tasks?" Seungkwan looked at Professor Kang and the facilitators standing beside her.

"I assure you, the next activity won't be like this," their professor replied.

Seungkwan's eyes widened. "Excuse me, but did you just say next activity?"

One facilitator stepped forward and they all felt a bit nervous. "Everyone, please bring out the keys."

"Keys?" Chan asked, looking at the others.

The fourteen looked at each other in confusion until Seungcheol and Hyesun reminded them.

"The three keys we retrieved for one task," Seungcheol said. He knelt down and opened his luggage. He took out one small clear box.

"Our happy ending!" Mingyu said as he took out the key from his luggage.

Hyesun followed suit and took out the third key from her things.

The three key bearers lined up and nine other facilitators stood in front of them, each holding a small treasure chest with numbers in front of them.

"Inside the chests are different treasures, different kinds of happy endings," one facilitator said. "From the nine, you may choose three. As you choose, please surrender one key."

Hyesun, Seungcheol, and Mingyu looked at another and went to their friends for a quick meeting.

"How about chest number seven?" Soonyoung suggested.

"I'm fine with any number, really," Seungcheol said. "Facilitator said it's a happy ending no matter what."

Chan laughed. "And you trust their word, hyung?"

Doubt began to spring among the fourteen again.

"Okay, so we got chest seven," Jihoon said. "What are the other two?"

"Let's go with chest number six," Wonwoo suggested. Then he began to sing their made-up pun-song for Yeoseodo and was quickly joined by the rest. " _Hana, deul, set, net, daseot, Yeoseodo_."

"We trust you, Jeon Wonwoo, our bag of luck," Junhui said.

"For the last chest, what about number three?" Jeonghan asked.

Nobody really questioned any suggestion since they didn't know what to expect.

"I don't feel so good," Seungkwan said, placing a hand on his head. "What if we got something bad? Something we don't expect?"

"Don't think too much, Seungkwan," Hyesun said. "It's gonna be fine."


	23. Going Home

Seungcheol, Hyesun, and Mingyu went back to their positions in front of the nine chests, holding the keys in their hands.

The facilitator waited for them to announce their choices.

"First pick, Mr. Choi?"

"Chest number three," Seungcheol said as he surrendered his key.

"For the second pick, Ms. Song?"

"Chest number six," Hyesun said, giving the key to the facilitator.

"What would be the last pick, Mr. Kim?"

"Chest number seven," Mingyu replied, handing over the key.

Seungcheol, Hyesun, and Mingyu were instructed to go join their friends back in the line. Their chosen chests were brought closer to them while the other ones that were not selected were removed.

All fourteen held hands as they waited to see what was inside the first chest. Dread settled on them, just like the time they were still in the restaurant before coming to Yeoseodo.

"For chest number three, you picked..." the facilitator spoke. He placed a hand on the chest and slowly opened it. "A samgyeopsal dinner!"

The fourteen kids smiled widely and excitement filled their eyes. Seungkwan and Soonyoung were even jumping.

"For chest number six, you picked..."

The fourteen fell silent again, nervous as to what the second chest held.

"Coffee shop discount cards!" the facilitator announced.

As the fourteen began their second celebration, the facilitator held up a hand. "The discount cards are valid for the whole year next year. Please enjoy them."

"I'm drowning myself in caffeine next year!" Jeonghan shouted.

Seungcheol clapped his hands. "Just in time for our all-nighters!"

"We're gonna be drinking coffee everyday!" Seokmin cried.

"Seokmin-hyung doesn't really need coffee," Chan whispered to Hansol who only nodded and smirked.

"Children, everything in moderation, okay?" Professor Kang reminded, shaking her head in amusement at her students.

"Here's the last one," Seungkwan told everyone. "Please be something good. Jebal."

The fourteen went silent as they watched the facilitator move to the third treasure chest. Seungkwan's concern left them all dreading this moment. What if they got something bad?

"For the chest number three, the third and last chest, you will receive..."

Fourteen eyes focused on the chest, praying for whatever's inside to be anything but bad.

The facilitator opened the chest. "A final grade of 100 on this subject!"

The shouts of celebration were deafening as the fourteen couldn't believe what they got for their last chest.

Seungkwan fell to his knees and clasped both hands as if in prayer. Soonyoung's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Hansol pumped his fists and began to dance. Seungcheol was slapping Mingyu's shoulder, not believing their luck. Mingyu ran a hand through his hair again and again. Jeonghan and Joshua hugged each other.

Junhui fell to the ground and placed his hands on his head, trying to process everything. Jihoon clapped his hands quickly. Minghao counted with his hands, calculating what his GPA might be with this sure perfect grade. Seokmin began to do his pigeon head-bobbing move, with Wonwoo imitating him. Chan ran to Professor Kang and hugged her.

Hyesun walked to the chest and took the cardboard with '100' written on it. She went back to her friends and Seungkwan initiated a song.

" _HANA! DUL! SET! NET! DASEOT! YEOSEODO!_ " the fourteen sang and danced over and over, celebrating all the items they won.

When the celebrations had turned quiet and the fourteen had calmed down, the discount cards were distributed among them while the samgyeopsal dinner certificate was entrusted to Hyesun.

"I guess it's time to return these to you," Professor Kang said, bringing out a bag which held all their phones and wallets.

"Okay everybody! Get in position!" Seungcheol instructed as an official group photo was to be taken.

"Say, Yeoseodo!" Professor Kang said as she pressed the shutter button.

Now with their phones back, the fourteen took a couple of minutes to take pictures of everyone. Of course, selfies weren't forgotten.

As soon as Jihoon got his phone back, the first thing he did was to take Hyesun's picture.

"Are you done?" Hyesun asked.

"One more," Jihoon said as he pressed the shutter button, capturing Hyesun radiant in the sunlight. "Perfect."

"Now come here," Hyesun said, taking Jihoon by the hand. She pointed to Chan who was holding her phone.

Chan diligently took multiple shots, knowing his noona needed options. "Beautiful!"

"Yah, don't forget about us, noona," Seungkwan said, standing next to Hyesun for another photo. "Hansol! Chan! Come over here."

"Jun!" Hyesun called out to Junhui. "Let's take a photo!"

Soon, it was time for the fourteen to go home. Hyesun took out fourteen tickets and all of them gave Yeoseodo one last look before boarding the ship.

The fourteen looked at one another and at their surroundings.

"The trip's officially over, children," Professor Kang assured. "No need to be cautious anymore."

"Alright, professor," Seungkwan said. "Just wondering if there's any chance we're being taken to Cheongsando right now."

"Seungkwan!" the thirteen all shouted at him.

They all stayed on deck for a while, taking in the view of the entire island as long as they could. When Yeoseodo disappeared in the horizon, only then did they go inside.

Hyesun thought that all of them would be excitedly talking all the way home, but as soon as they got inside, all of them lied on the floor and slept soundly, just as they did the first time they got there.

***

Jihoon couldn't remember the last time he had a good quality nap like the one he had just now. It felt like he had only blinked—one moment, they were just off the coast of Yeoseodo, and now, one of the facilitators was waking them up.

"We're arriving in Wando Terminal in half an hour," the facilitator announced.

They sat up, sorting themselves out. In the midst of their preparations for their arrival, Jihoon noticed that Hyesun wasn't in the room. Seungkwan and the others began to notice it too.

"No, I haven't seen her," Chan was heard saying to Seungkwan after looking around the room.

"There's nobody in the toilet," Hansol said.

"Where could she be?" Seokmin asked.

"Have you seen Hyesun-noona, Jihoon-hyung?" Seungkwan asked, starting to sound panicked.

"No," Jihoon replied. He had an idea. "I'll go check on the deck." He went out and once the cold hit him, he doubted Hyesun would be staying outside in this weather.

There was nobody on the deck. Jihoon jogged to the other side of the ship and Hyesun was still nowhere to be found.

"She's not at the deck," Jihoon announced as he got back inside the room where the boys were.

"She's not in the other rooms too," Junhui said, scratching his head.

"We already tried calling her but we got nothing," Wonwoo added. "She did board the ship with us, right?"

"Are you crazy? Of course, she did," Seungcheol said. "Last time I saw her, she was lying beside Seungkwan and Hansol."

"Did anybody see her wake up?" Minghao asked. "Because I didn't."

The rest of the boys shook their heads too.

"Where is she?" Jeonghan asked in a tired voice. "Hyesun! Where are you?"

"Let's split into groups," Mingyu said. "We have no other choice but to search the whole ship."

Joshua nodded. "Everyone, check your phones. Whoever finds her first must let the rest know."

"Got it," Soonyoung said. "Minghao, Chan, come with me."

***

"Hyung, why exactly are we here?" Chan asked as he and Minghao followed Soonyoung down to the engine room. "We're not even allowed to enter. We're not authorized personnel."

"Yeah, hyung, why in the world would noona be down here?" Minghao questioned. "I'd understand if she'd be found somewhere like the deck, but the engine room? Really?"

"You'll never know, boys," Soonyoung said, lowering his head to avoid a low-hanging pipe. "What if she’s being held hostage?”

"What have you been watching recently, Soonyoung-hyung?" Chan asked, shaking his head.

"You heard what Mingyu said. We're searching the whole ship if we have to," Soonyoung replied.

"He's got a point,"Minghao said, turning to Chan.

The three reached the end of the engine room and Hyesun was still missing.

***

"I can't reach her," Seungkwan said as he listened to the other end of the line. He ended the call and looked at Seokmin.

"We'll find her, Seungkwan," Joshua assured. "Don't worry."

Seungkwan nodded.

“Time to use the megaphone?” Jeonghan asked.

“Yes, by all means,” Seungkwan replied.

“Seokmin,” Seungcheol said, giving Seokmin the signal.

Seokmin nodded and cleared his throat. “HYESUN-NOONA! HYESUN-NOONA!”

***

Jihoon, Wonwoo, Mingyu stopped in their tracks and turned their heads to where the sound came from.

“What the hell. I can hear Seokmin all the way here,” Wonwoo chuckled.

“Where could noona have possibly gone?” Mingyu asked, scratching his head. “It’s like the second day in Yeoseodo all over again.”

“I don’t like to file a report for a missing person,” Wonwoo said grimly.

Jihoon was starting to get worried. “It won’t come to that. This ship isn’t that big. She’s just here. Somewhere.”

***

“Hansol, we’re approaching the captain’s quarters,” Junhui said as he followed Hansol.

“Noona might be here,” Hansol said, stopping in front of the door.

Junhui knocked on the door three times.

It took a few seconds before the captain opened the door.

“Hello, sir,” Junhui greeted. “We’re looking for our friend, Song Hyesun. We’re wondering if she might be in here.”

“She’s this tall,” Hansol said, gesturing. “Long hair, uhh…brown coat.”

“Oh!” the captain said, recognition forming on his face. He stepped aside and opened the door wider for Junhui and Hansol “Come in, come in.”

Junhui and Hansol looked at each other and walked inside the room.

Over at the corner of the room was Hyesun, talking to someone on the phone while scribbling down on a notepad.

“Been on the phone for about half an hour now,” the captain explained. “She knocked on the door, wondering if she could use a phone since her phone’s battery ran out. Said it’s for school.”

Junhui nodded. “Ah, I see. Our friends are getting worried.”

Hansol took out his phone and sent a message to the group. _Junhui-hyung and I found her._

“Okay, so just those things, professor?” Hyesun said. “Alright. Oh, okay. I’ll meet up with him later for that. Thank you.” She ended the call and set down the handset. She turned to the captain. “Thank you for letting me use the phone, sir.”

“No problem,” the captain replied.

Hyesun hopped off the chair and when she saw Junhui and Hansol, she stopped in her tracks. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”

***

“This is the second time this has happened!” Seungkwan cried, pacing in front of Hyesun like a parent scolding their child. “How could you go off on your own like that? Do you know how worried we were?”

The boys stayed at the side, while Hyesun, being under the spotlight, was seated at the middle of the room as she was being interrogated.

“We even reached the engine room just to look for you,” Soonyoung added, trying to sound mad but he wasn’t as serious as Seungkwan.

“I was talking to my professor on the phone when my battery ran out,” Hyesun explained. “The conversation was really important so I looked for a phone.”

The boys looked from Hyesun to Seungkwan who was about to reply but he was cut off by someone else.

“You could’ve woken any of us,” Jihoon spoke up, making everyone look at him. “If you needed a phone, you could’ve just asked.”

Hyesun looked at him. She saw how worried he had been and she noticed the strain in his voice. “I didn’t want to wake any of you.”

Seungkwan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Jihoon-hyung’s right. We wouldn’t mind.”

When Hyesun walked in the room with Junhui and Hansol, she thought that it would just be a light sermon, but she didn’t expect a heavy atmosphere like this one.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Jeonghan said in a cheery voice, walking to Hyesun, pulling her away from the center of the room. “Hyesun has already understood our concern, right, Hyesun?”

Hyesun nodded.

“See?” Jeonghan said, patting her head. “Now, let’s prepare. We’re arriving in a few minutes.”

***

They reached Wando Coastal Terminal and had a late lunch at a nearby restaurant before heading back to Seoul via bus.

The fourteen sat in groups at separate tables.

Hyesun was following Chan and Hansol to one table when Jihoon pulled her to the table where he was sitting with Junhui, Jeonghan, and Wonwoo.

Jihoon pulled out a chair for Hyesun and motioned for her to sit down. “What are you ordering?”

“You’re not mad at me?” Hyesun asked as she sat down beside him.

“Why would I be?” Jihoon said, looking up from the menu.

“You know, earlier,” she answered.

Jihoon smiled at her as he held her hand under the table and Hyesun knew there was no problem between them.

“Junhui, I think I’m going to have indigestion,” Jeonghan said, not looking up from his menu, yet fully knowing what was going on.


	24. Pinky Swear

The sun was halfway down the horizon when the fourteen got back to the university. The bus ride back was long and quiet, as most of them dozed off, but during the moments when they were awake, the fourteen had already decided when they were having that samgyeopsal dinner.

The bus dropped them off at the waiting shed near the school’s quadrangle.

“So we’re on for Friday dinner, okay?” Seungcheol confirmed with Hyesun the date of their samgyeopsal party.

“Yup,” Hyesun said, giving him a hug. “I’ll see you then.”

“See you on Friday, noona,” Seungkwan said, hugging her. Seungkwan was easy to be angered, but was quick to forgive. “I’m sorry for getting mad at you earlier.”

“It’s alright,” Hyesun said, patting Seungkwan’s back. “I’m sorry for worrying you, too.”

Jihoon made no move to join his friends going back to their dorm.

“Jihoon, you’re staying with her?” Junhui asked as he pulled away from hugging Hyesun goodbye.

Jihoon nodded.

“Alright,” Junhui said, taking Jihoon’s suitcase. “I’ll bring this home for you.”

“Thanks,” Jihoon said and parted with his friends.

She bid the other boys goodbye and watched as they walked away, all except for Jihoon who decided to stay with her a bit longer.

Hyesun checked her phone and returned to Jihoon the power bank he lent her. “Hello, Taehyung? Yes, I just arrived. I’m on my way to the terminal.” She ended the call and turned to Jihoon. “Let’s go.”

The two walked to the bus terminal where a boy was waiting. The boy stood up and waved as he saw the two approaching.

“Taehyung,” Hyesun greeted. She set down her luggage and hugged him.

“Hey, you’re back,” Taehyung said, hugging her.

“Yeah, and I’m still alive, too,” Hyesun said. She turned to Jihoon. “Jihoon, this is Taehyung, my best friend.”

Taehyung reached out and shook hands with Jihoon.

Hyesun was pleased to see that the two had finally interacted. She took Jihoon’s hand in hers and she turned to Taehyung. “And Taehyung, this is Jihoon, my boyfriend.”

Jihoon felt his hearbeat quicken but he still managed to acknowledge Taehyung. Jihoon’s heart was pounding and his cheeks felt very warm. _Jihoon.exe has stopped working_ , his thoughts screamed.

Jihoon wasn’t the only one who was surprised. If Jihoon could look calm and composed while being surprised, Taehyung, on the other hand, could not.

Taehyung’s eyes widened and turned to Jihoon. “She went to Yeoseodo single and now comes back with a boyfriend.” He looked like he couldn’t really fully process what was going on.

“Jihoon, forgive Taehyung,” Hyesun said. She then turned to Taehyung. “Professor Park called me while I was still in the ship. Did he sign my submission?”

“Yeah, he did,” Taehyung replied. He opened his bag and pulled out a ring-bound booklet which he handed to Hyesun. “Here.”

“Thanks,” Hyesun said, checking the pages. “I was really surprised that he called.”

“He looked for you,” Taehyung said.

“You told him why I wasn’t able to show up?”

“Of course,” Taehyung answered. He closed his bag and straightened his clothes. “Listen, I better get going.”

“Going home to Daegu?” Hyesun asked.

“Yes. We have this family reunion tomorrow so my mom wants me home by tonight,” Taehyung explained.

“Alright, thanks for this,” Hyesun said. She hugged Taehyung goodbye. “Take care.”

“You too,” Taehyung said. “It’s nice meeting you, Jihoon. I wish you guys the best.” As he was walking away, he looked over his shoulder and waved them goodbye. “Happy Holidays!”

Jihoon sat down at one of the benches, staring far ahead.

“Jihoon, you okay?” Hyesun asked.

“Hmm? Oh, uh, yeah, I’m fine,” Jihoon replied. He smiled as he replayed what Hyesun referred to him as she was introducing him to Taehyung. “Boyfriend…?”

“Do you prefer best friend instead?” Hyesun joked.

“No, I like boyfriend,” Jihoon said.

They waited at the terminal for a couple more minutes, but the bus Hyesun needed to catch hadn’t shown up yet.

Hyesun glanced at Jihoon and saw how patient he was being, but he looked tired. She placed a hand on his head. “You look tired. You don't have to do this you know.”

Jihoon gave her a small smile. “Don't worry. I want to.”

Finally, the bus arrived.

Jihoon stood up and helped Hyesun with her things.

“I'll see you on Friday,” Hyesun said and kissed his cheek

“Okay,” Jihoon said, but instead of staying at the terminal, he boarded the bus with Hyesun, much to her surprise.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Bringing you home?” Jihoon said, walking past Hyesun to find them a seat.

Hyesun couldn’t believe he’d do that for her, but she was more than glad that he was there. As she sat down beside Jihoon, she laced her fingers with his.

***

“These clothes smell like the spipefish we caught,” Mingyu said. He held his breath as he sorted his laundry. Among the boys, only he and Joshua were washing their clothes.

“Well, we didn’t get to change clothes until the third day,” Joshua chuckled. He shook his head in amusement as he remembered their stay in Yeoseodo.

Mingyu couldn’t stand to leave his clothes unwashed while Joshua needed to sort his things since he was leaving in a couple of days to spend the holidays in America.

The rest were too tired or too lazy to do chores that night.

“Leave some for Jihoon,” Seungcheol called from the couch. He was the one who decided that they order takeout that night since nobody felt like cooking and doing the dishes.

“I wonder what Jihoon’s doing right now,” Junhui said.

Seungcheol’s phone buzzed. He looked at the screen and saw that it was a text from Jihoon. “He said he’s walking her home.”

“Jihoon’s such a gentleman,” Jeonghan said, earning nods from Wonwoo and Junhui.

***

Jihoon and Hyesun alighted from the bus. He pulled Hyesun’s suitcase for her as the two walked to her house.

After fifteen minutes of walking, they reached a mid-sized two-storey house that had a nice front yard and stone steps that led to the front porch.

“We’re here,” Hyesun said, stopping right at the gate of her house.

The neighborhood was quiet. No other residents were out on the street at the moment, making the surroundings peaceful and calm.

“Thank you, for everything,” she said.

Jihoon could only smile at her. Knowing Song Hyesun was amazing, but actually being with her was something else. Words couldn’t express everything he wanted to say so he let his actions speak for him. He stepped closer to her and tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear. He cupped her face with one hand while pulling her gently to him with the other.

Hyesun placed her hands on Jihoon’s shoulders and closed her eyes as she saw him slowly leaning in.

“Noona!” two voices called out just as Hyesun and Jihoon’s lips were dangerously close to touching.

"The twins," Hyesun laughed.

Jihoon kissed her on the cheek instead and let go of Hyesun.

Hyesun knelt down and opened her arms as her little twin brothers ran to her. “Hey, I missed you.” She trapped the twins in a hug and peppered their cheeks with kisses.

“Noona, who is he?” one of the twins asked, pointing to Jihoon.

Hyesun motioned for Jihoon to come closer.  She turned to her brothers and placed a hand on their heads. “This is Haneul, first born. And this is Haru, second born.”

“Boys, this is Jihoon-hyung,” Hyesun said to her brothers, pointing to Jihoon. Say hi.”

Jihoon knelt down and shook hands with her brothers whom he found were extremely adorable.

“Hello,” Haneul and Haru greeted, hugging Jihoon at the same time.

“Nice to meet you,” Jihoon said, embracing the twins.

One of the twins, Haru, pulled away and looked Jihoon straight in the eye.

“Are you noona’s boyfriend?” Haru asked.

Jihoon looked at Hyesun who simply nodded at him. He turned back to Haru. “Yes, I am.”

“Then you must take care of noona, do you promise?” Haneul said this time. He and Haru held out their pinkies for a solemn agreement with Jihoon.

Jihoon linked his pinky fingers with the twins’ and looked at Hyesun. “I promise.”


	25. Holiday Shopping

"Why did you wake us early?" Jihoon asked as he sat down at the table, joining his friends for breakfast.

"Mingyu!" Junhui called. He set down the two platters which held stacks of pancakes. "Come here now."

"Coming, hyung," Mingyu answered. In a few moments, he came holding a platter of eggs and sausages. He sat down beside Junhui and looked to Jeonghan.

"So what is it, Jeonghan?" Seungcheol asked. "Why wake us at seven in the morning?"

"I thought we were still in Yeoseodo," Seungkwan said through a yawn while stretching at the same time.

Jeonghan placed a small jar on the table. He looked excited. "We're all going home for the holidays, right? And we have this samgyeopsal dinner on Friday, too. Why don't we make that our Christmas party?"

At the mention of a party, everyone sat forward, fully awake, and listened to what Jeonghan had to say.

"We'll be exchanging gifts," Jeonghan said, opening the lid of jar. He shook it a few times and the folded pieces of paper inside it rolled one on top of the other.

"Ohh," Soonyoung said, nodding. "But hyung, there's thirteen of us, one will be left without a gift."

"That's gonna be you, Soonyoung," Wonwoo teased.

"Of course, I've sorted this out. I've already talked to Hyesun and she agreed to be part of this," Jeonghan explained.

"Oh, noona's joining!" Chan cried, clapping his hands.

"Yes, now, I'll pass this jar around and we pick one piece," Jeonghan instructed. "Don't tell anyone who you picked, okay?"

"For once, can we all please cooperate?" Seungcheol asked, looking at everyone.

"Yes, hyung," they answered.

The jar was passed around, the boys each gave different reactions as they opened the paper. A single piece of paper was left inside the jar.

Jihoon folded the paper he was holding. He got Hansol and he started to think about what to give the boy.

"Who's going to tell noona who she picked?" Minghao asked, stuffing the piece of paper in his pocket.

"I will," Jeonghan said.

"What if the name in the remaining piece of paper is yours?" Joshua inquired.

"It won't be, I'm sure of it," Jeonghan declared confidently. He reached for the paper and was about to open it when he saw Seungkwan standing close by. " _Yah_ , Seokmin, get Seungkwan, will you?"

"No peeking," Seokmin said as he pulled Seungkwan away from Jeonghan.

Jeonghan unfolded the paper and relief washed over him. "It's not me!" He took out his phone and took a picture of the paper. "There, I sent it to Hyesun."

***

“All of these look nice, don’t they, Jihoon?” Junhui said as he admired the different wooden combs and brushes of the stall he and Jihoon were at.

“They do,” Jihoon replied, looking at the different designs. He looked at Junhui and tried to think of who he picked. Nobody was giving any hints ever since they came to the bazaar.

Junhui picked up one comb with floral designs engraved to the wood. “I’ll get this one, miss.”

 _What do I get Hyesun?_ Jihoon asked himself. Then another question came to his mind. _What do I get Hansol?_

It was almost lunch time. They had been at the bazaar for almost two hours now but Jihoon still hadn’t picked anything. He didn’t know what to get for Hyesun. He also didn’t know what to get for Hansol.

“Thank you,” Junhui cheerfully said as received the small paper bag handed to him by the saleslady. He already had two paper bags with him. “Finally, I’m done.”

The two boys walked from shop to shop. Junhui was now carefree while Jihoon was still looking hard.

Jihoon was about to ask for Junhui’s help in picking a present when he found the other boy standing in front of a stall that sold jewelry. He walked over to where Junhui was and understood why Junhui couldn’t take his eyes off the jewelry.

The necklaces were the most eye-catching for Jihoon.

There were silver, gold, and rose-gold pieces; pendants and layered ones, too. Jihoon looked at the designs of the pendants. When he saw the circular pendant with a wave design engraved on it, he knew it was the right one to pick.

“I’ll get this one, please,” Jihoon said to the saleslady, pointing to the item he wanted.

“I’m hungry,” Junhui said as he and Jihoon walked away from the jewelry stall.

“Hold on,” Jihoon said. “I still need to buy one more gift.”

“Why do you need two gifts?” Junhui asked.

“I could ask the same of you,” Jihoon replied. “Why do you have _two_ gifts, Jun?”

“It’s for a friend.”

“Sure it is,” Jihoon said.

***

“So who’s paying the bill?” Seungcheol asked.

After their shopping, the thirteen boys met up for lunch at a nearby café. Despite excitedly talking about the things they saw at the bazaar, everyone was pretty quiet about what they got for the person they picked. Nobody was giving any hints.

“Pay for what you ate, kids,” Jeonghan said, placing bills on the small plastic tray.

“Here,” Jihoon said, handing bills to Jeonghan. He said and quickly stood up.

“Where are you going, hyung?” Seungkwan asked.

“I just remembered I needed to finish something,” Jihoon replied. He took his paper bag with him and went out of the restaurant.

***

It was night time when Jihoon got back to their dorm.

As soon as he walked in, the first thing he noticed were the string of warm lights hanging on the wall. The second thing that got his attention was the Christmas tree, no, it wasn’t actually a tree, but a big plant decorated with small ornaments.

“Hyung! Hyung! Look at this!” Chan said as he ran to Jihoon and ushered him further into the living room. “We did a good job decorating, didn’t we?”

Jihoon smiled and ruffled Chan’s hair. “Yeah, you did.”

“Hey, you’re back,” Joshua said, greeting Jihoon. “Were you able to finish what you needed to do?”

Jihoon was glad that there wasn’t any bad blood between him and Joshua. His hyung was as kind as ever. “Yes, just in time. Hyung, are those all the gifts you bought?”

Jihoon looked at the gifts segregated into two clusters underneath their Christmas plant. He walked over to the presents. The cluster on the left was not labeled and the wrappings looked ordinary.

On the other hand, the cluster on the right had cards and prettier wrappings. All presents in that cluster were addressed to Hyesun.

“Yeah,” Joshua replied, laughing. “But it looks like we all bought Hyesun something.”

In front of the gifts sat Soonyoung, Seungkwan, and Seokmin.

“My gift for noona is better,” Seungkwan bragged.

“No! Mine’s prettier,” Seokmin argued.

“Shut up, you two. My gift will be her favorite,” Soonyoung defended.


	26. Dinner and Dreading

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone. I know it's been a really long time since the last update. But here it is! I'm sorry it took this long -_- I'm not abandoning this story! Hope you enjoy it :D

_Geudae misoe bomi dwaejulgeyo._

Jihoon nodded and a contented smile formed on his lips as he listened to his work.

 _It’s perfect,_ he thought to himself. He checked the time. It was six in the evening. An hour left before their Christmas-slash-samgyeopsal-party.

After dressing up, he went to the living room and collected his presents to bring.

Most of the boys were already dressed up and were lounging at the couch with their phones. But as for Mingyu, he was busy in the kitchen.

The smell of peanut butter and chocolate wafted through the air, making Seungkwan and Jeonghan rise from their seats. They made their way to Mingyu who was watching the cookies bake in the oven.

“Why are you baking at this time, Mingyu?” Jihoon asked Mingyu as he poured himself a glass of water.

“This is my gift to noona,” Mingyu said. He opened the oven and took out a tray of freshly baked cookies. He took three pieces and handed them to Jihoon, Jeonghan, and Seungkwan to try.

“Finally, he noticed us,” Jeonghan said. He took a bite of the cookie and thought for a moment. “It’s delicious.”

“It’s good,” Jihoon said. He knew Mingyu could cook, but he didn’t know Mingyu could also bake.

Mingyu looked pleased with himself and began to pack the rest of the cookies in a paper box which he tied a big red bow. He quickly wrote something on a card and attached it on top and placed it inside a lunchbox so it wouldn't get cold easily.

“Is there some more?” Seungkwan asked, finishing the last bit of his cookie.

***

“All set?” Seungcheol asked, turning around to check if all of them were complete.

The thirteen boys met at the lobby of their dormitory, all in an unsually smart casual attire. They were all carrying paper bags with them that held their presents.

“Okay, let’s go,” Soonyoung said.

After one bus ride and a few minutes of walking, they found the restaurant they would be celebrating at.

A waiter welcomed them at the doorstep. “Do you have a reservation?”

“Actually, it’s not really under our name since it’s—“ Chan tried to say.

“Professor Kang made a reservation for us,” Wonwoo quickly said.

The waiter’s face lit up in recognition. “Ah, Professor Kang, you say? I see, you’re companions with the girl.”

“So, noona’s here already?” Hansol said, turning to Seungkwan who just shrugged.

The waiter ushered the boys inside and led them to a small function room.

“Why do I feel like it’s Yeoseodo all over again?” Junhui asked, laughing nervously.

“ _Aigoo,_ don’t be like that,” Minghao said, elbowing Junhui. “We’re just here to have dinner. That’s all.”

“Minghao’s right. Let’s not think about that,” Seokmin said to reassure everyone who was starting to feel as nervous as Junhui did.

The boys held their breaths as the waiter opened the door of the function room.

There were no surprises waiting for them inside the room, there was just Hyesun who was quietly waiting at the couch.

“Noona!” Chan and Seungkwan said as the two ran to her, with Hansol closely following. The three boys enveloped Hyesun in a warm group hug.

“You’re always early,” Hansol said to Hyesun as he pulled away.

Hyesun greeted each of the boys with a hug. “Well, what can I do?”

“Look at this, noona,” Soonyoung said in a singsong voice as he held up a purple paperbag to Hyesun.

“Is that for me?” Hyesun asked.

“ _Yah!_ Soonyoung, it’s not yet gift-giving,” Jeonghan called from his seat on the table.

“Oops,” Soonyoung said and put down his gift. “Pretend that I never showed you anything, okay?”

“Okay,” Hyesun said and watched as Soonyoung find a seat at the table.

Jihoon was quietly standing by the door and when he saw that Hyesun wasn’t preoccupied anymore, he walked to her. “Hi.”

Hyesun slightly blushed as she greeted him. “Hey.”

Jihoon couldn’t help but smile as Hyesun hugged him. _God, I missed you,_ he thought to himself.

Hyesun pulled away and led him to the table where the boys were beginning to look at the menu.

“ _Yah, yah,_ make some room for Jisun!” Seungcheol ordered. He stood up from the couch. Mingyu, Hansol, and Junhui all filed out to let Jihoon and Hyesun take the inner parts of the booth.

“Jisun?” Seokmin asked in confusion. “Hyung, who’s Jisun?”

“ _Pabo,_ ” Jeonghan said, softly smacking the top of Seokmin’s head.

Seokmin stared at Jeonghan for a few seconds. “Jisun…Ji…sun…Jihoon and…” Finally, understanding came to him. He broke into a grin and covered his mouth with his hand.

“It’s a good one, right, Jeonghan?” Seungcheol asked, looking proud of himself.

Jeonghan looked so amused but before he could even speak to agree with Seungcheol, Hyesun, quick-witted as ever, came up with a comeback.

“Alright, that’s enough, Jeongcheol,” Hyesun said, making everyone at the table laugh.

***

“Seungkwan, you don’t look so good,” Hyesun said as she flipped the meat on the grill.

For the past few minutes, Seungkwan ate the food continuously but he had that uncertain look in his eyes. He looked at Hyesun and shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m just thinking if we’re about to be thrown somewhere else again.”

“Come on, don’t say that,” Mingyu complained through a mouthful.

Hyesun smiled and assured Seungkwan. “Look, I was here first and trust me when I say there’s nothing fishy going on.”

“Noona’s right,” Hansol said, cheering up Seungkwan. “I don’t feel anything out of place. If it did, then shouldn’t we have all—“

Pops of notification sounds were heard all throughout the table.

The fourteen all took out their phones.

 _New Email: From Professor Kang_ , the notification read.

The fourteen looked at one another and once again, the tension they felt at the restaurant they were in a week ago was back.

Seungkwan set his chopsticks down and stood up. “I TOLD YOU SOMETHING’S UP!”

“I don’t wanna open it,” Junhui said, shoving his phone back in his pocket. He picked up his bowl of rice and began to eat again.

“Me neither,” Soonyoung said.

The others also kept their phones, not wanting to open the email from their professor.

“But we can’t just ignore the email!” Chan said.

“Why don’t you open it, Chan?” Joshua’s calm, gentle voice echoed, silencing the nervous chatter of the boys. “You’re the class beadle, aren’t you?”

All eyes turned to Chan, the only one still holding their phone.

“Alright, alright,” Chan said in defeat.

Seungkwan and Hansol leaned over to Chan to see what the content of the email was.

The rest watched the three boys’ reactions to the email.

Chan’s eyes widened and he looked at Seungkwan and Hansol. Seungkwan held a hand over his mouth and looked amused.

“Well, what is it?” Hyesun asked.

“I think we’ll be needing a projector for this one,” Chan said.

“I’ll ask,” Seungkwan said. He rose from his chair and went out of the room.

“What’s the email?” Soonyoung asked.

“Tell us,” Jeonghan ordered, making Chan shrink in his seat.

“Are we going back to Yeosodo again?” Junhui asked.

“Is there a task?” Minghao added.

“It’s nothing serious, hyung,” Hansol said, getting back to his food.

“Nothing serious, but if I hear anything about packing survival kits and—“ Wonwoo said but was cut off as Seungkwan walked through the door carrying a projector with him.

Chan and Seungkwan set the projector and placed it in front of a white wall where everyone could easily see. Chan’s phone was connected and soon, the content of the email was revealed.

Seungcheol sighed and sat back. “I can’t believe we’re getting worked up because of photos.”

The rest sat back and all tension was gone when they saw that Professor Kang had only sent photos of their time in Yeoseodo. They looked at the photos and smiles formed on their faces as they remembered their lives on the island—from the first day, where everyone looked so confused, to the tasks done day by day, to the time their group had separated, and of course, the last day when they departed.

“That’s in a grocery in Cheongsando,” Hyesun said, pointing to the photo shown.

“You guys really lived a good life there,” Seungcheol said.

“But Wonwoo kept us on a strict budget,” Joshua cried.

“That being the reason why we didn’t drown in debt,” Wonwoo defended.

The next photo shown was back at their lodging in Yeoseodo. Jihoon, Junhui, Soonyoung, Seokmin, Mingyu, Seungcheol, Minghao, and Hansol were at the front yard.

“That’s the night of the chicken prank, wasn’t it?” Seungkwan said, trying to hold in his laughter.

“Soonyoung-hyung looks ready to fight here, doesn’t he?” Chan said.

“He really was raging that time,” Jihoon explained.

“He wanted to fight you guys,” Junhui added. “He even asked for your address in Cheongsando.”

Soonyoung shook his head as he laughed. “But really, that’s a low blow. I really thought you’d be sending us chicken.”

“We _did_ send you chicken, though,” Wonwoo pointed out.

“ _Yah!_ I meant chicken that’s fried!” Soonyoung bellowed, standing up in false anger. “Chicken with batter!”

The thirteen watched as Chan swiped through the rest of the photos. The last photo was of them standing at the docks, right after Hyesun’s team, the orange team, won in the last game.

"I really thought we'd win that game," Seungcheol said as he looked at the picture.

"But noona beat you to it," Soonyoung said.

They reached the last photo and all of them were nostalgic.

They couldn't believe how fast time flew. One moment they were all wishing to go home and now that they're home, they're all wishing to go back to the island.


	27. Gift Giving

"Time for the gifts!" Jeonghan announced, looking around.

All of them reached for the presents they brought and waited for further instructions from Jeonghan.

"Stand up, everyone," Jeonghan said. "The table's too small." He and the rest vacated their seats and stood in a straight line at the small open space in the room. "We'll do it from youngest to oldest."

The thirteen listened to Jeonghan as he continued to explain how the gift giving would proceed. "So we're in a line, right? We start with Chan. All our eyes would be closed and that's when Chan would walk over to who he picked and place the gift in front of that person. Once Chan is done and back in his place, say 'Chan, done', and then Hansol would open his eyes and do the same. Everyone got it?"

"Got it," they all answered Jeonghan.

"Chan, would you kindly start," Seungcheol said.

"Everyone, close your eyes," Jeonghan reminded.

Hyesun and the boys closed their eyes and listened in on Chan's footsteps. Soonyoung was heard giggling excitedly. Not long after, Chan signalled that he was done.

Hansol's turn came, so did Seungkwan's, Mingyu's, and everyone else's.The activity carried on and being the oldest in the group, Hyesun was the last one to give her gift.

She opened her eyes and saw that there was already a shiny red paper bag beside her gift. She took the gift she brought with her and made her way quietly to Minghao. She laid the gift gently in front of the boy and soon went back to her place. "Hyesun, done."

"Okay, let's open our eyes," Jeonghan announced.

Everyone looked at the gifts they received. As instructed by Jeonghan, all gifts had cards on them: cards that only had the names of the givers.

The boys immediately opened their presents and soon got rowdy while Hyesun didn't open hers yet. She looked at her gift and saw that it was from Wonwoo.

"Wah, I'm never running out of shirts again!" Seungcheol cried as he brought out the shirts Chan got for him.

"Thank you, Chan," Seokmin said, placing an arm around Chan. "Thanks to you, hyung won't be stealing any of my shirts anymore."

"Mingyu got me a case for my glasses," Jeonghan said, admiring the leather case in his hands. He hugged Mingyu and squeezed the younger one's cheeks.

"So your glasses won't have scratches, hyung," Mingyu said, hugging Jeonghan back.

"Look at what Minghao got Joshua!" Seungcheol laughed.

The boys came over to Joshua as he brought out his gift from Minghao. It was a pair of wine glasses with gold bases.

"Thanks, man," Joshua said, patting Minghao's back.

"I couldn't afford the wine yet, so this will have to do," Minghao said cheekily, obviously proud of himself. "I'll treat you a bottle when you graduate, hyung."

"Hansol got me some gloves!" Junhui exclaimed. He wore them right away and hugged Hansol. The older one was fond of the younger that he even lifted Hansol and spun him around.

"I wonder what Seokmin got me," Soonyoung said as he unwrapped his present. He opened the bag and his eyes went wide. He pulled out four pairs of socks with different designs. "There's ramen, Mona Lisa, hamsters, and...carrots! Thank you, Seokmin! I love them!" He hugged Seokmin and aggressively cuddled with the other.

"Seungkwan got me a shampoo," Wonwoo announced. He opened the shampoo bottle. "Well, that actually smells nice."

Seungkwan winked at Hyesun and she didn't know that Seungkwan loved her shampoo so much he decided to buy it for Wonwoo. "See? I have good taste, hyung."

"About time you change your shampoo," Soonyoung said. "Apples and menthol are so yesterday."

Jihoon's present was from Jeonghan. When he first saw the card, Jihoon didn't know what to expect because it's from Jeonghan, the most unpredictable person in the world. He looked at Hyesun who was standing beside him.

"Go on, open it," Hyesun said.

Jihoon's stomach was doing somersaults. He looked inside the bag and his paranoid self disappeared when he saw a black journal sitting inside the bag. He brought it out.

"What did you think I was going to give you?" Jeonghan asked, watching Jihoon the whole time. He had an amused look on his face.

"Thanks, hyung," Jihoon said shyly and smiled.

Over where Minghao was, Seungkwan and Hansol gave gasps of amazement when Minghao brought out his gift.

"Thank you, noona!" Minghao said, enveloping Hyesun in a hug. "I always wanted to have these!"

Hyesun couldn't help but laugh in delight as she watched Minghao fawn over the painting kit she got for him. The boy was too pure and too adorable.

"Mingyu, stop taking pictures and open your present," Joshua called. He handed Mingyu a brown paperbag. "Merry Christmas."

Following Joshua's orders, Mingyu set his camera down and opened Joshua's gift. His eyes sparkled when he brought out a leather pouch. "You're the best, hyung."

"What in the world?!" Seokmin was heard shouting and laughing at the same time. "Do I smell bad?"

Seungcheol approached Seokmin, holding in his laughter as well. "No, no. You don't smell bad, Seokmin. It's just that the perfume you're using makes you smell like an old man."

"How do you know what old men smell like?" Seokmin asked. He opened the bottle and spritzed some of the perfume on him.

"I mean your old perfume's too strong!" Seungcheol explained. "With my gift, you now smell like--"

"A baby!" Seokmin said. He brought his wrist to his nose. "I smell like a baby!"

"Well, aren't you a baby?" Jeonghan teased.

"Wow! A skincare set!" Seungkwan cried after lifting the lid of the white box that he got from Soonyoung. "Soonyoung-hyung's really concerned about my skin, huh?"

"You bet I am," Soonyoung said, giving him a thumbs up. "And look, it says orange extracts are from Jeju oranges!"

Hyesun looked at Jihoon and noticed that he was watching Hansol.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!!" Hansol cried. He looked at Jihoon and hugged the older boy. "Hyung! This. Is. The. Best."

Jihoon looked so surprised and relieved. "I'm glad you like it."

"Hyung, I love it!" Hansol said.

"Why? What did you get?" Seungkwan asked, followed by Seokmin and Mingyu.

Hansol held up a set of three USBs that each had 64 gigabyte capacities. What's more amazing was that the USBs had a limited edition design of Guardians of the Galaxy, Hansol's current favorite Marvel movie.

"Have you opened my gift, Chan?" Junhui excitedly asked their youngest.

"Opening them now, hyung," Chan said. He took out a wooden box. Inside the box were two neckties: a maroon one and navy blue one. But both neckties had the silhouette of Michael Jackson's dancing figure embroidered on the fabric. Chan's jaw dropped and he hugged the gift to his chest.

"You still haven't opened my gift," Wonwoo said to Hyesun, doing his best to pout.

"I'm opening them on Christmas," Hyesun said.

"It's amazing," Wonwoo told her. "I guess it won't be bad to wait until Christmas."

Hyesun looked back at one corner of the room where all her gifts for the boys were placed. She went to get it and walked back to where everyone was gathered. "Guys, I've got something for you."

She began distributing the gifts one by one and the boys thanked her. When it came to Jihoon, she didn't give him anything. Of course, she saw the calm but expectant look Jihoon gave her. She just smiled at him.

"Well, we also got you something," Seungcheol said, bringing out another gift. He looked around and saw that the rest of the boys were bringing out their own gifts. "We all did."

"Thank you. You really didn't have to," Hyesun said as the pile of gifts before her grew.

"Noona, you better open mine now," Mingyu said. He approached Hyesun and opened the box. "They're best consumed immediately."

The smell of peanut butter and chocolate wafted through the air. Hyesun took a bite and it didn't take long for her to give Mingyu a thumbs up.

"They're really, really, good, Mingyu," she said, finishing the cookie.

The gift giving was over and they all went back to the table. They ordered some alcohol and cola for the underaged.

Seungcheol stood up and lifted his glass. "A toast! To new friendships, to new love, and to all of us! May we all find happiness, and may we conquer tomorrow, no matter what it brings!"

Their glasses clinked and the contents were downed. It was indeed a good night.

***

"Walk home safely, okay?" Seungcheol said to Hyesun and Jihoon.

It was quarter before midnight and it was now time to part ways. Hyesun bid the boys goodbye while Jihoon decided to walk her home once more.

"Will do," Jihoon said, nodding.

"You too, Seungcheol," Hyesun said, patting his back. "Take care."

Hyesun and Jihoon watched as Seungcheol and the boys turned at one corner, disappearing from sight.

Jihoon carried the paper bag filled with gifts for Hyesun and she linked her arm with his.

The two walked in comfortable silence and soon, they reached Hyesun's house. Like the first time Jihoon got there, there was nobody on the streets and everything was quiet.

Hyesun brought out a key and opened the front door. She took the paper bag from Jihoon. "Wait here, I'll be back in a few minutes." She dashed inside the house before Jihoon could even reply.

She was back after a few minutes holding a smaller paper bag this time. She took Jihoon by the hand and walked forward. "Come on."

Jihoon let himself be led. "You walk so quickly. Where are we going?"

Hyesun smiled at him over her shoulder. "To the park."

The park was just two blocks away from Hyesun's house and they reached the place in no time.

The park was quiet and only a few people were there.

Hyesun led Jihoon to a bench in front of a small lake. She and Jihoon sat down.

"I hope you don't mind me bringing you here," Hyesun said. "It's just so nice to be somewhere quiet."

"No, no, not at all," Jihoon said.

Hyesun reached inside the paper bag and brought out Jihoon's gift. "Merry Christmas."

Jihoon smiled as he took the gift. "Thank you." He noticed that Hyesun was waiting for him. "Oh, you want me to open it?"

Hyesun nodded. "Yep! I'm excited."

Jihoon unwrapped the gift and found a special leather document folder inside. Engraved at the very bottom right part was his name. He looked back up at Hyesun and she was really waiting for him to react. "This is wonderful."

Hyesun smiled, proud of herself. "I'm happy."

Hyesun reached inside the paper bag again and brought out two glasses and a wine bottle. "Now, for the second part of the surprise." She opened the bottle and poured some wine for the both of them.

Jihoon took the glass and they drank.

Jihoon downed his glass soon. He set his glass down and faced Hyesun. "My turn." He pulled out a small black velvet box from his pocket and gave it to Hyesun. "Merry Christmas."

Hyesun opened the small box and found a necklace inside. She took it out and saw the wave design on the pendant. "It's beautiful."

Jihoon moved closer and wore the necklace on her. "Perfect."

Hyesun looked at the pendant. It really was beautiful. Simple yet exquisite. The waves reminded her of the seas of Yeoseodo and Yeoseodo would forever be special to her. "Thank you."

Jihoon smiled and brought out earphones this time. "This is my second gift."

The two shared the earphones. Jihoon handed her his phone. The music file on screen was labeled _To Hyesun_ and he clicked it.


	28. Chapter 28

Hyesun didn't notice it, but tears had formed in her eyes. She didn't easily cry normally but this was an exception. Jihoon saw this and he panicked, not knowing what to do.

"Don't cry. I didn't mean for you to cry, I'm sorry" he said, bringing out his handkerchief and dabbing it carefully on Hyesun's cheeks.

Hyesun brushed her tears and smiled. "No, I'm fine, really. It's just...the song, it's...I just felt it. And it's wonderful."

Jihoon smiled shyly. "Really? You like it?"

"I love it." She rested her head on Jihoon's shoulder and savored his warmth. "You're talented, Jihoon. I wish I could make music like that."

"I can teach you," Jihoon said, taking her hands in his. All those nights composing the song was worth it. It never even occurred to him that he could make a song in just a few days.

They had a few more glasses of wine before calling it a night. Hyesun packed the glasses and bottle back inside the paper bag and turned to Jihoon who was quiet.

"Jihoon, are you alright?" Hyesun asked as she stood up.

Jihoon took her hands and rested his forehead on her knuckles. He murmured something Hyesun didn't understand.

"Can you say that again? I didn't catch that," she said, kneeling to be eye level with Jihoon.

"I...I don't feel so good," Jihoon said softly.

Hyesun looked at Jihoon's face and he was a bright red. She was sure it was the wine. Did he have too much? She was sure she drank more than he did. She was feeling fine a few moments ago but now, she was trying her best not to panic. "Okay, I'll...I'll get you home."

She brought out her phone and began booking him a ride home when he stopped her.

"What are you doing?" Jihoon asked, trying his best to sit up straight. He rested his head on Hyesun's shoulder.

"Booking you a ride home," she answered.

"No," Jihoon said. "If you're booking a ride for me, who's going to walk you home then?"

"I can manage," she said.

"It's almost two in the morning, it's not safe," Jihoon argued. He stood up and did his best to hide the pain from showing in his face. "Come on."

"Can you walk?" Hyesun asked.

Jihoon nodded.

Hyesun placed an arm around Jihoon and held him close as they began to walk. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought the wine."

"It's alright," Jihoon softly answered.

The walk back to Hyesun's house didn't take long. Though Hyesun was sure Jihoon just did his best to endure the journey.

"We're here," Hyesun said. She brought out her house keys and opened the front door all while supporting Jihoon. She helped him inside the house and laid him on the couch.

As soon as Jihoon was on the couch, he lied on his side. His eyes were closed and his eyebrows were knit together. It pained Hyesun to see Jihoon like this.

Hyesun sat beside him and gently ran a hand through his hair. "I'll just be in the kitchen, okay? I'll make some tea for you."

Jihoon nodded, his eyes were still closed.

Hyesun set to work. While waiting for the water to boil, she brought out a tray, saucer, and a mug. She took out a bag of green tea and let it sit in the hot water for a few minutes.

She brought the tray of tea to the living room where Jihoon was. Like his state earlier, Jihoon still seemed to be pained. She placed a hand on Jihoon's forehead. He was a bit warm, but not feverish.

She didn't know how to deal with someone like this. She tried calling Seungcheol but he wasn't answering. Seungkwan, Chan, and Jeonghan weren't answering as well.

Of course, all of the boys would probably be asleep since it was an ungodly hour, plus the others might've had too much to drink during their dinner earlier.

 _It's just you then,_ Hyesun told herself.

She made her way upstairs and brought down a blanket and some face towels. She placed the items on the coffee table, beside the tea.

"Can you sit up?" Hyesun asked, kneeling beside Jihoon. She didn't know what exactly she was going to do to help him.

Jihoon winced when he got up. Hyesun fixed the pillows to make sure he was comfortable.

After wringing a soaked towel, she sat beside Jihoon. His face was still red and still a bit warm. Hyesun proceeded and carefully dabbed Jihoon's face with the cold towel. Compared to earlier, Jihoon's eyes were open now and she could tell he was watching her. Not that it made her feel uncomfortable, but it made her nervous.

The entire time she was tending to him, her heart felt like it was going to jump out.

 _Focus, Hyesun_.

She soaked the towel in the cold water once again and proceeded to dab the cloth on Jihoon's neck. To make her work quicker, she tried not to think much of Jihoon watching her.

"Okay," Hyesun said, reaching to the table to pick up a new towel. "Unbutton your shirt."

"Um, unbutton what now?" Jihoon spoke in an unsure tone.

"Your shirt. Unbutton it," she replied. Hyesun had her back turned to Jihoon as she wrung the towel so he wouldn't see her blushing as she ordered him to do so.

"R-right," he stammered.

She turned back to face him but he was still working the top button. At first, she opted to just watch and wait for him to finish, but she wanted this to be over so she sat closer and unbuttoned his shirt herself.

 _Okay, keep it together, Song Hyesun. You're not fainting on Jihoon_ , she kept telling herself.

She stopped unbuttoning midway and proceeded to dab the towel on his bare chest. She didn't dare to look Jihoon in the eyes. She focused on the task. As she did so, she felt his heart pound. He was just as nervous as she was.

The silence was uncomfortable so she decided to talk. "I'm sorry," she said. "This is all my fault." She looked at Jihoon but found that he was already looking at her.

Jihoon smiled at her tenderly. He took the towel from her hands and placed it back in the basin. He turned back to her and laced his fingers with her cold ones.

"It's okay," he whispered. His arm snaked by her waist and pulled her close while his other hand tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear.

Hyesun wasn't sure if it was the wine but she reciprocated his gestures by cupping his face. The distance between them was getting smaller and all she could look at were his lips.

She lifted a finger and traced the outline of his features: his brow, his nose, his cheeks, and then his lips.

Jihoon kissed her hand and looked at her, as if asking for permission.

She nodded and felt his grip slightly tighten on her. She closed her eyes, felt his weight move forward, and soon, a pair of soft warm lips touched hers.

It lingered for a moment, before breaking away. They looked at each other: both faces flushed, but more awake than ever. After a few seconds, the two broke into giggles and fell back, with Hyesun resting her head on Jihoon's chest.

"Jihoon," she said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

Hyesun sat up. "You should probably change."

She helped Jihoon throughout the night, making him finish the tea prepared for him and giving him a change of clothes.

Hyesun arranged the living room: she brought down more pillows and duvets just to make sure Jihoon was comfortable.

"Feeling better?" Hyesun asked as she pulled away from him. She reached out and combed his hair with her fingers.

"Yeah," he replied. He was watching her fondly. If he was hesitant to kiss her earlier, now, he had a little more courage. He pulled her in for another kiss. A longer, but still gentle one.

Hyesun couldn't help but smile and once again, they were laughing.

Once the giggles faded and now comfortable silence filled the room, Jihoon spoke.

"I love you," he said, looking her in the eyes.

It didn't feel like a surprise, it's like she knew it, but hearing it out loud just made things better; as if something had been confirmed and she was relieved to hear it. And she didn't take long to reply.

"I love you, too."

Jihoon smiled and wrapped his arms around her as they retired for the night.

He fell asleep in no time while Hyesun savored the moment. It was early in the morning and she should be sleeping, but she couldn't go to sleep just yet.

When she heard him say those words, her entire being felt warm not only because he was holding her, but it's like her soul found a home, and that home was Jihoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank you guys for being with this story. Thank you for putting up with the slow updates. And I really appreciate all your comments. It's been great a journey with you. The setting of this story holds so much meaning to me since OFD Castaways is one of the reasons how I became a Carat. 
> 
> Also, if you want to know what the boys gave to Hyesun and what Hyesun's gift to the boys had been, read on below :)
> 
> Boys' gifts to Hyesun:   
> Seungcheol - bracelet with charms  
> Jeonghan - small coin purse  
> Joshua - mini tea set for two  
> Junhui - wooden hairbrush  
> Soonyoung - a set of stud earrings  
> Wonwoo - a moon lamp  
> Minghao - journal  
> Mingyu - choco peanut butter cookies he had baked that morning  
> Seokmin - stainless steel tumbler  
> Seungkwan - sheer socks  
> Hansol - embroidered scarf  
> Chan - gloves
> 
> Hyesun's gift to the boys:  
> For Seungcheol - mug and usb  
> For Jeonghan - mug and sweets  
> For Joshua - mug and tea packets  
> For Junhui - skin care bundle  
> For Soonyoung - a planner  
> For Wonwoo - book and thin wood bookmark  
> For Minghao - paint set  
> For Seokmin - flower seed packets  
> For Seungkwan - a set of handkerchiefs  
> For Hansol - room slippers  
> For Chan - beanies
> 
> Once again, this has been maroonfairy17. Thank you for reading.   
> Love you guys and let's shower Seventeen with more love <3  
> \----------  
> See you in the next fic!


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